e  INDEPENDENCE  DAT 

HORROR 
AT  KILLSBVKY 


ASENATH 
CARVER 
COOLIDCE 


The  Independence  Day  Horror 
at  Killsbury 


BOSTON     HARBOR    STYLE. 


The  Independence  Day 

Horror 
At   Killsbury 

By  Asenath  Carver    Coolidge 

Author  of  "The  Modern  Blessing,  Fire" 

and  many  other  short  stories 

and  poems 


Illustrated  by 
Cassius  M.  Coolidge 


Watertown,  N.  Y. : 

Hungerford-Holbrook  Company. 

1905 


Copyrighted  1905 
By  ASBNATH  CARVER  COOLIUGB 


Published  April,  1905 


HUNQERFORD-HOLBROOK  CO. , 
WAT5RTOWN,  N.Y, 


DfDtCHtrD 

70  my  Grandmother,  A senath  Carver 'Towns end 
a  descendent  of  John  and  Mary  Carver 
who  came  to  America  to  escape  per- 
secution for  their  religious  belief 
which    would    not    -permit 
them  to  countenance  war 
or  its  vain-glorious 
celebrations 


2130391 


Pref 


ace 


world  is  a  dangerous  place  to  live  in,  espe- 
cially  for  helpless  and  innocent  children. 
Wise  parents  are  sadly  aware  of  this  fact  and  have 
always  been  striving  to  make  it  less  dangerous. 
That  this  was  no  small  task  even  in  the  beginning 
is  easy  enough  to  be  seen;  for  there  were  poison 
fruits  and  reptiles  and  savage  beasts  to  contend 
with;  but  it  was  light  indeed  compared  with  the 
parental  task  of  today,  when  the  monsters  of  mil- 
itarism and  greed  are  abroad,  planting  their  dan- 
ger-traps in  the  pathway  of  unwary  feet. 

In  our  own  country  Independence  Day  has 
proved  to  be  their  golden  harvest.  The  freedom 
given  to  small  boys  on  this  day  makes  them  easy 
victims  to  the  tempters'  wiles,  who  under  the  treach- 
erous guise  of  patriotism  have  seized  upon  them 
more  and  more  every  year,  until  the  list  of  the  dead 
and  wounded  has  assumed  appalling  proportions. 
Still  there  is  little  talk  of  doing  away  with  this 
hideous  slaughter;  while  there  is  "big  talk"  about 
"race  suicide,"  and  an  appeal  to  mothers  to  bring 
forth  more  sons  to  supply  the  nation's  need. 


v 


Preface 

The  nation's  need !  What  need,  we  ask  in  God's 
name,  has  this  nation  of  three  or  four  thousand 
boys  to  sacrifice  annually  on  our  country's  altar? 
Let  the  mothers  answer.  Let  them  demand  that 
this  country  be  made  a  fit  place  for  children  to  live 
in.  That  the  ten  million  now  spent  annually  for 
their  destruction,  be  used  for  their  benefit.  If 
only  one  half  of  this  amount  were  used  rightly 
what  a  change  would  come  over  the  face  of  this 
continent!  Every  town,  however  small,  would 
have  its  pretty  park  for  the  children  to  play  in 
without  fear  and  trembling.  There  would  be 
flowers  and  music — true  and  gentle  music  that 
takes  the  savagery  out  of  the  human  heart  in- 
stead of  filling  it  with  savage  impulses.  Music 
that  would  not  drown  the  voices  of  the  birds,  but 
inspire  them  to  sing  their  rarest  songs.  Music  that 
would  not  wound  the  ears  of  the  tenderest  babes 
but  seem  to  them  like  a  mother's  softest  lulla- 
by ;  to  which  it  is  easy  to  fancy  that  God's  birds, 
the  angels,  are  delighted  to  listen. 

ASENATH  CARVER  COOLIDGE. 
Antwerp,  N.  Y.,  April,  1905. 


vin 


Contents 

CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

Preface    vii. 

i.     The   Cornwallis   Cottage 13 

n.     The  Round  About  Road   to   Schwar- 

mer  Mansion 22 

in.     The  Alarm 33 

iv.     Risus  Sardonicus    40 

v.     Insanity  or  Exile 49 

vi.     The  Funny  Fourth  Racket  on  English 

Soil    57 

vn.     The  Double  Engagement 65 

vni.     Dr.  Muelenberg's  Prescription 74 

ix.     The  Bridal  Trip 80 

x.     A     Public     Meeting — Statistics     and 

Resolutions 87 

xi.     Appeal  Instead  of  Prohibition 101 

XH.     A  Good  Celebration — Adelaide  Schwar- 

mer  and  Ruth's  Dog 114 

ix 


Contents 

xin.     Alfonso     Bombs'     Pyrotechnics     and 

Adelaide  Schwarmer's   Blame 126 

xiv.      Schwarmer's  Threatened  Arrest 140 

xv.  The  Killsbury  Women  Arrest  Them- 
selves    148 

xvi.     The  Effect  of  Ruth's  Speech 160 

xvn.     The     Query — Ruth's     Dog     Dombey 

Brings  Her  a  Note 173 

xvm.     Mr.  Bombs'  Disgust  with  Chicago  and 

the  Pyre-King's  Plans 183 

xix.  Schwarmer  Does  a  Little  Hustling  on 
Adelaide's  Account — A  Fourth  of 
July  Bugle 193 

xx.     The  Dedication  of  the  Library 203 

xxi.     Adelaide    Stays    at    Home   with    Her 

Father    213 

xxn.     A  Wonderful  Change  in  Killsbury .  .  .    228 

xxm.  Mr.  Bombs  Tells  All  He  Knows  About 
Laurens  Cornwallis'  Mysterious 
Death  .  238 


Illustrations 

PAGE. 

Boston  Harbor  Style Frontispiece. 

The  Funny  Fourth  Racket  on  English  Soil .  .      62 

Going  to  Visit  the  President 82 

"A  Feast  is  Better  than  Firecrackers" 118 

"Fire,  Fire!"  Cried  a  Voice 134 


XI 


The  Independence  Day  Horror 
at    Killsbury 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE  CORNWALL.IS  COTTAGE. 

XT  was  Independence  Day.     The  sun  rose 
gorgeously.      The  air  was  electric   and 
inspiring.      Blossoming  plants  were  ex- 
haling rare  fragrance.     The  forests  and 
rivers  were  palpitating  with  glad,  soft  sounds  and 
gentle  fervor.     The  birds  were  singing  jubilantly, 
and  various  forms  of  living  things  were  alert  and 
antic.      Yes,   it   was    "Independence   Day   in    the 
morning"  as  the  Killsbury  boys  called  it.     It  was 
full  of  glorious  promise — the  list  of  the  dead  and 
wounded  had  not  as  yet  come  in! 

Apparently  there  were  not  half  a  dozen  people 
in  the  town  who  would  have  admitted  that  there 
would  be  any  casualties  on  the  day  that  had 
dawned  so  beautifully ;  although  there  had  been  an 
increasing  number  of  them  every  year  since  Mil- 
lionaire Schwarmer  had  come  and  built  his  man- 
sion on  "The  Hill"  and  decorated  its  brow  with  a 
big-mouthed  cannon. 

13 


The   Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

The  cannon  began  to  boom  as  soon  as  the  sun 
appeared  above  the  horizon.  It  continued  to  boom 
industriously  as  though  it  were  determined  to 
wake  up  every  citizen  in  Killsbury  and  the  sur- 
rounding country  to  the  important  fact  that  "In- 
dependence Day  had  really  and  truly  and  unmis- 
takably dawned,"  as  Captain  Dan  Solomon  face- 
tiously remarked.  It  was  a  fact  that  would  have 
been  well  known  and  appreciated,  at  least  by  every 
inmate  of  the  Cornwallis  Cottage,  even  though 
there  had  been  no  cannon  on  Schwarmer  Hill  to 
vomit  it  forth ;  for  the  reason  that  the  sole  son  of 
the  house,  Laurens  Angelo  Cornwallis,  had  been 
born  on  that  day. 

Little  Laurens  Angelo  Cornwallis  was  the  most 
beautiful  boy  in  Killsbury,  "or  the  whole  world," 
averred  the  Reverend  Dr.  Normander,  who  had 
baptised  him  and  had  traveled  the  world  nearly 
enough  over  to  make  a  correct  estimate  with  re- 
gard to  the  part  that  remained.  Yes,  and  he 
was  as  good  and  bright  as  he  was  beautiful — the 
joy  of  his  mother,  the  pride  of  his  father  and  to 
his  sister  Ruth  the  "dear  angel,"  as  she  called  him, 
so  it  goes  without  saying  that  his  birthday  would 
have  been  celebrated  with  due  love  and  honor  even 
if  he  had  not  been  born  on  Independence  Day ;  al- 
though there  might  not  have  been  such  a  showing 
of  red,  white  and  blue — probably  no  more  than 
one  American  flag,  with  an  English  and  French 
flag  lovingly  intertwined  (for  Mr.  Cornwallis  was 

14 


The  Cornwallis  Cottage 

of  English  descent  and  his  wife  of  French  descent) 
whereas  now  there  were  flags  on  the  four  corners 
of  the  cottage,  and  over  all  the  doors  and  windows 
both  inside  and  outside  and  a  generous  display  of 
bunting  everywhere. 

"A  double  quantity"  as  Mr.  Cornwallis  was  wont 
to  ask  for  when  he  bought  a  new  supply  of  colors. 

"One  half  to  celebrate  our  boy's  birthday  and 
the  other  half  to  celebrate  our  Nation's  birthday. 
You  see  we  don't  intend  to  be  partial." 

And  when  the  shopman,  who  inclined  to  think 
that  love  of  one's  own  country  meant  hate  of  all 
other  countries,  remarked  "there  are  some  who  say 
that  we  should  love  our  country  more  than  our 
wives  and  children,"  Mr.  Cornwallis  replied: 

"I  haven't  got  to  that  point  yet  and  I  doubt  if 
I  ever  shall.  I  don't  intend  to  make  burnt  sacri- 
fices on  any  altar." 

While  he  was  arranging  the  flags  the  Reverend 
Dr.  Normander  called. 

"You  see,  Doctor,  I  love  Mother  England  and 
Sister  France  very  well  indeed,  but  I  love  America 
supremely." 

"Yes  I  see"  replied  Dr.  Normander,  "and  I 
know  it  is  very  easy  to  love  our  own  country;  but 
to  love  other  countries  equally  well — in  other  words 
to  love  our  neighbors  as  ourselves — there's  the  rub, 
Mr.  Cornwallis." 

"I  recognize  the  beauty  of  equality,  Doctor," 
laughed  Mr.  Cornwallis,  "and  I  think  I  might  be 

15 


The  Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

able  to  love  other  countries  as  well  as  my  own  coun- 
try after  a  great  deal  of  practice  and  very  possi- 
bly, my  neighbor  as  well  as  myself,  but  I  fear  I 
could  never  love  my  neighbor's  boy  as  well  as  I 
love  my  own  boy.  I  hope  I  am  taking  a  step  in  the 
right  direction  when  I  pay  equal  honor  to  my  coun- 
try's birthday  and  to  his." 

Little  Ruth  caught  her  father's  spirit  as  by  in- 
fection. Every  Fourth  of  July  she  arose  as  soon 
as  the  cannon  began  to  boom  and  running  out  into 
the  dewy  or  rainy  garden,  whichever  it  happened 
to  be,  she  picked  two  great  bunches  of  red  and 
white  flowers  and  arranged  them  in  two  blue  vases 
and  put  one  at  the  end  of  the  table  where  mamma 
sat  and  the  other  at  the  end  where  papa  sat  in  hon- 
or of  the  two  birthdays. 

Mrs.  Cornwallis  made  a  new  patriotic  suit  for 
her  darling  boy  each  year.  This  year  it  was  a 
quaint  George  Washington  suit  in  red,  white  and 
blue  with  a  cute  Can't-tell-a-lie  cap,  all  spangled 
with  stars. 

After  breakfast  was  over,  she  spread  the  suit 
out  on  the  bed  in  her  room.  She  was  going  to  give 
her  boy  a  bath  preparatory  to  putting  it  on. 

The  cannon  on  Schwarmer  Hill  began  to  boom 
again  just  as  Laurens  was  stepping  into  his  little 
bath  tub.  The  boy  shivered. 

"What  makes  you  shiver  so,  Laurens?  Is  the 
water  too  cold?"  asked  his  mother. 

"O  no,  mamma!    It's  the  cannon  I'm  shivering 

16 


The  Cornwallis  Cottage 

at.  It  made  the  house  shiver.  What  makes  them 
have  it  so  awful  loud?" 

"So  as  to  be  sure  and  make  everybody  hear,  Lau- 
rens." 

"I  think  a  bugle  would  be  better,  mamma." 

"So  do  I,  my  boy,  but  I  suppose  Mr.  Schwarm- 
er  doesn't. 

"I'm  afraid  of  Mr.  Schwarmer,  mamma.  He 
gave  Benny  Horton  something  that  blew  his  eye 
out  last  Fourth." 

"So  am  I,  my  boy.  Fireworks  are  not  fit  for 
little  boys  to  handle.  They  smell  bad,  they  are 
bad,  dangerous  and  noisy." 

She  was  rubbing  his  white  satiny  skin  with  her 
soft  hands.  She  stopped  short  and  added: 

"If  he  ever  offers  you  any,  you  will  refuse  to 
take  them,  and  you  will  tell  him  what  mamma  says 
about  them,  won't  you  darling?" 

He  threw  his  arms  around  her  neck  and  kissed 
her. 

"Yes,  mamma,  I  will.  You  don't  want  your  lit- 
tle boy  to  have  his  eyes  put  out,  do  you?"  he  said 
pathetically. 

"No  indeed,  Laurens,"  cried  the  mother  turning 
around  to  get  his  new  pants  and  brush  away  a 
tear. 

"Mamma,  the  gardener  said  my  old  pants  were 
holy.  What  did  he  mean?" 

He  meant  you  had  worn  holes  in  them,  Lau- 
rens?" 

17 


The  Independence   Day   Horror  at   Killsbury 

"What  did  the  Sunday-school  teacher  mean 
when  she  said  the  war  we  are  going  to  celebrate  to- 
day was  a  holy  war?  Did  she  mean  we  had  worn 
holes  in  it?  Worn  it  out?" 

"No,"  laughed  Mamma,  "she  meant  it  was  a 
war  to  make  the  English  give  us  our  own  things 
just  as  you  would  fight  if  a  dog  should  try  to  eat 
up  your  dinner." 

"O  mamma,  I  would  give  poor  doggy  my  dinner 
if  he  were  hungry,"  said  Laurens,  with  tears  in 
his  eyes. 

"Yes,  I  know  you  would,  my  darling,  but  if 
you  were  hungry  and  he  would  not  let  you  have 
any,  what  then?" 

"I  would  pet  and  coax  him,  mamma,  until  he  let 
me  have  some." 

Mrs.  Cornwallis  gave  up  the  argument  and 
hugged  and  kissed  her  boy  to  her  heart's  content. 
But  Laurens  did  not  give  it  up  so  easily.  When 
she  was  fastening  his  ruffled  shirt  front  with  her 
beautiful  sapphire  buttons  which  were  a  part  of 
his  father's  wedding  gift,  he  touched  her  on  the 
forehead  and  said: 

"Please  tell  me,  mamma,  what  kind  of  animals 
the  English  are?  Bridget  calls  them  'Johnny 
Bulls.'  Do  they  look  like  our  bulls?" 

"No,  no,  my  child.  They  look  like  ourselves. 
Like  your  papa.  Your  grandpapa  came  from 
England  when  he  was  a  little  boy  about  your  age." 

"O  mamma !    You  don't  know  how  s'prised  I  am. 

18 


The  Cornwallis  Cottage 

I  thought  the  English  were  a  sort  of  bulls — dan- 
gerous bulls,  that  pitched  into  our  grandpas  with 
their  horns  and  they  had  to  kill  them  or  be  hooked 
to  death." 

"No,  Laurens,  they  were  men,  but  they  wronged 
us." 

"I  think  it  would  be  awful  to  kill  anybody  just 
for  that,  mamma." 

"So  it  seems  to  you  now,  my  boy,  but  when  you 
have  grown  to  be  a  man —  "  she  hesitated.  A  sud- 
den fear  shot  through  her  heart.  Was  it  that  she 
was  not  teaching  him  quite  right,  or  was  it  that 
of  an  impending  sorrow?  Then  she  added  with  a 
sigh:  "The  Lord  only  knows,  Laurens.  I  hope 
you  may  think  the  same;  but  I  fear  you  will  think 
quite  differently." 

Later  on  his  toilet  was  finished  and  a  miniature 
George  Washington  stood  before  her  looking  up 
into  her  face  with  the  Can't-tell-a-lie  expression 
so  dear  to  her  heart. 

"There,  you  may  go  now  and  get  your  kite. 
Ruth  must  have  gotten  the  streamers  all  tied  on 
by  this  time." 

He  ran  to  his  sister's  room,  and  she  put  the 
beautiful  new  kite  that  Ralph  Norwood  had  made 
on  purpose  for  him,  into  his  chubby  little  hand 
and  watched  him  in  an  ecstacy  of  admiration  as  he 
ran  down  through  the  garden  and  out  into  the  big 
sunny  field  where  he  was  going  to  make  it  fly. 

Then  she  went  into  mamma's  room;  for  they 

19 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

were  going  to  take  each  of  them  a  sweet,  sweet 
bath  and  make  everything  ready  for  the  beauti- 
ful home  celebration.  The  table  was  to  be  loaded 
with  refreshments  that  were  truly  refreshing  for 
a  hot  day,  and  little  Laurens  was  to  have  a  birth- 
day cake  with  eight  roses  (to  tell  how  old  he  was) 
circling  around  a  tiny  flag  on  a  tiny  staff  made  of 
a  goose-quill  in  imitation  of  the  famous  one  with 
which  the  American  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  signed. 

The  Reverend  Dr.  Normander  and  family  were 
to  be  there  and  Ralph  Norwood  and  his  brothers. 
They  would  have  music  and  singing  and  the  chil- 
dren might  play  at  fort-building  out  in  the  fra- 
grant garden ;  but  they  would  have  no  "nasty  fire- 
works," as  Mrs.  Cornwallis  called  them. 

She  was  a  true  Frenchwoman  in  her  tastes,  al- 
though truly  American  in  education,  and  would 
not  have  the  sweet  smelling  plot  of  ground  on 
which  she  had  spent  so  much  of  her  spare  time, 
turned  into  a  pit  of  vile-smelling  powder  and  brim- 
stone. She  resolutely  maintained  that  she  could 
show  her  intense  patriotism  in  better,  safer,  and 
more  odorous  ways.  And  she  did  it  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  everybody  in  Killsbury  unless  it 
might  be  Millionaire  Schwarmer  who  came  to  his 
mansion  on  The  Hill  every  Fourth  of  July,  boomed 
his  cannon  and  distributed  free  fireworks  among 
the  boys  of  the  town,  "in  grateful  remembrance," 
he  said,  "of  the  fact  that  he  was  born  there." 

20 


The  Cornwallis  Cottage 

Mrs.  Cornwallis  said  to  her  husband  that  it  was 
a  pity  he  could  not  show  his  gratitude  in  more 
agreeable  and  useful  ways,  but  she  did  not  say  so 
in  public  or  brood  over  it  in  private.  She  was  a 
very  busy  housewife  and  devoted  mother  and  had 
no  time  to  cultivate  even  the  necessary  grievances. 

Mr.  Cornwallis  was  in  sympathy  with  his  wife's 
opinions ;  but  as  yet  it  had  not  occurred  to  him 
that  free  fireworks,  (like  free  whiskey)  were  any 
worse  for  the  town  than  those  that  were  regularly 
bought  and  paid  for.  As  to  the  legal  restrictions 
necessary  with  regard  to  the  sale  and  manufacture 
of  explosives  for  the  celebration  of  our  national 
day,  he  was  beginning  to  be  very  outspoken. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   ROUND  ABOUT   ROAD  TO   SCHWARMER   MANSION. 

HERE  were  two  roads  leading  up  to  the 
Schwarmer  Mansion  from  the  town  of 
Killsbury.  One  of  them  was  called  "The 
Straight  Way"  and  the  other  "The 
Round  About  Road."  The  latter  followed  the 
steep  declivity  that  led  down  to  the  river's  edge 
and  passed  the  big  lot  that  belonged  to  the  Corn- 
wallis  grounds. 

"Guess  I'd  better  take  the 'Round  About' with  all 
that  heavy  baggage  of  yours,  Mr.  Schwarmer," 
said  Captain  Dan  Solomon,  the  expressman  at  the 
station.  "There's  a  loose  board  in  the  bridge  on 
the  'Straight  Way'  that  my  filly  don't  exactly  ap- 
prove of." 

"Just  as  you  choose,  Dan,"  replied  Mr. 
Schwarmer.  "It  doesn't  make  a  cent's  worth  of 
difference  to  me,  most  assuredly  it  doesn't.  How 
long  before  you'll  be  around?" 

"As  soon  as  I  can.  Things  are  a  little  irregular 
today,  you  know." 


The  Round  About  Road 

"Certainly !  certainly  Dan !  Independence  Day 
is  every  dog's  day,  most  assuredly  it  is ;  and  busi- 
ness concerns  are  apt  to  move  rather  circuitously. 
Fons,"  he  added,  turning  to  a  youthful  looking 
lad  at  his  side,  "suppose  we  take  'The  Round 
About,'  since  there's  no  carriage  and  we  have  to 
walk.  We  might  as  well  make  it  worth  while, 
you  know.  I  haven't  walked  around  that  way  for 
years,  most  assuredly  I  haven't." 

Fons  assented  and  they  walked  on  at  a  brisk  pace. 

"How  many  of  those  patriotic  packages  have 
you,  Fons? 

"If  you  mean  my  improvements  on  'The  Sacred 
Mandarin,'  laughed  Fons,  "I  have  enough  yet  to 
hold  up  the  town,  although  I  left  a  good  sprink- 
ling of  them  at  every  station  and  sowed  them 
about  six  deep  among  the  employees  while  you 
were  hunting  up  Dan.  I'm  going  to  advertise  in 
earnest  this  time." 

"Well,  I've  got  half  a  dozen.  That  will  be 
enough.  We  won't  be  apt  to  meet  more  than  one 
or  two  boys  after  we  branch  off  if  we  do  any. 
They  didn't  expect  me  on  this  train.  Most  assur- 
edly they  didn't ;  but  they'll  flock  up  to  the  gates 
in  due  time — by  the  time  Dan  gets  there  I  reckon." 

They  went  on,  distributing  fire-crackers  and 
blank  cartridges  to  every  boy  they  met  and  every 
poor  looking  fellow  also. 

When  they  got  to  the  Cornwallis  lot  Fons  espied 
little  Laurens  in  the  distance  flying  his  kite. 

23 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

"Heigho!  what  gay  little  patriotic  bird  is 
that?"  exclaimed  Fons.  "He's  worth  the  ammu- 
nition." 

Schwarmer  stopped  and  put  on  his  gold-rimmed 
magnifiers. 

"That's  little  Laurens  Cornwallis — the  hand- 
somest boy  in  Killsbury  or  the  world,  they  say. 
You've  heard  me  speak  of  the  Cornwallis's,  most 
assuredly  you  have.  They  are  not  eminently  pa- 
triotic, I  suspect,  though  they  display  the  colors. 
We'll  see  how  the  eaglet  stands  affected  toward 
his  country  this  morning." 

Schwarmer  went  to  the  fence  and  beckoned  the 
boy  to  come  to  him. 

Laurens  came  on  a  little  distance  but  stopped 
when  he  recognized  Schwarmer. 

"Come  on,  my  pretty"  said  Schwarmer,  "  I  will 
give  you  a  nice  new  box  of  powdered  crackers  to 
help  you  celebrate.  You  can  make  them  go  off  with- 
out the  aid  of  the  fickle  wind." 

Laurens  shook  his  curly  head  vigorously.  "I 
don't  want  any.  I  told  mamma  I  would  not  touch 
Mr.  Schwarmer's  fire-things."  Then  he  turned  and 
ran  away  from  them  as  fast  as  his  little  legs  could 
carry  him. 

"How's  that  for  frankness?"  sneered  Fons  as 
they  moved  on.  "It  beats  you  who  are  a  profes- 
sional, 'all  the  way  to  Buzzard's  Bay,'  as  the  boys 
say." 

"Yes,  and  it  looks  rather  dull  for  your  trade, 

24 


The  Round  About  Road 

Fons,"  laughed  Schwarmer  rather  derisively. 
"Perhaps  you  had  better  put  your  inventive  genius 
into  some  other  business.  It's  pretty  poor  encour- 
agement when  you  can't  even  give  away  your  pro- 
ductions. Most  assuredly  it  is." 

"It's  doubtful  policy  to  begin  at  the  church 
door,"  said  Fons.  "More  stars  and  stripes  and 
fewer  fireworks  is  the  church  idea.  I  never  see 
such  a  boy  as  that — with  a  regular  Sunday  School 
look  and  eyes  rolled  up — without  wanting  to  call 
him  down.  The  most  beautiful  Laurens  needs  a 
giant  firecracker  and  a  dynamite  cap  and  cane  to 
bring  him  down  to  the  proper  altitude.  They  don't 
teach  fire  and  brimstone  in  the  churches  now,  so 
it's  necessary  for  the  youngsters  to  get  a  smell  of 
it  from  the  outside." 

"Military  slang  aside,  Fons.  His  mother  is  cos- 
seting him  and  making  a  sort  of  an  inspired  idiot 
of  him,  most  assuredly  she  is.  He  is  a  beauty — 
too  much  of  a  beauty  for  a  boy ;  but  he  will  never 
be  fit  for  business.  But  mothers  never  think  of 
things  in  a  business  way  and  Mrs.  Cornwallis  is  the 
main  spoke  in  Cornwallis'  wheel,  most  assuredly 
she  is." 

"A  wheel  of  domesticity  all  around  I  should 
judge,"  laughed  Fons.  "Cornwallis  is  no  business 
man." 

"No,  Fons — only  a  counter  of  other  men's 
gains — no  independent  money-maker,  so  to  speak. 
He  would  refuse  to  make  money  in  your  kind  of 

25 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

business  or  mine  either.  He  makes  a  terrible  hulla- 
baloo every  time  a  little  ragamuffin  gets  hurt  with 
blank  cartridges  or  toy  pistols.  He  wants  the 
manufactories  shut  down  at  once.  He'd  rather 
take  the  risk  of  having  six  youngsters  starved  to 
death,  than  to  have  one  die  of  lockjaw." 

"I  should  say  he  ought  to  have  the  lockjaw  him- 
self and  any  other  man  who  uses  his  jaw  for  the 
repression  of  legitimate  trade.  Faugh!  we've  no 
use  for  such  effeminates  on  this  end  of  the  planet, 
where  more  big  manufactories  are  needed  to  keep 
it  well  balanced.  I  should  like  to  see  his  jaw 
locked  up." 

"O  no!  not  quite  so  bad  as  that,  Fons." 

"Yes,  worse  than  that,"  continued  Fons  angrily. 
"Shut  up  our  own  manufactories  and  send  abroad 
for  Fourth  of  July  fireworks !  That's  the  kind  of 
business  fiend  or  fool  he  is — send  to  the  English 
for  things  to  celebrate  our  victory  over  them. 
Bah !" 

"But  we  never  have,  Fons — that  is  to  any  ridic- 
ulous extent — any  alarming  extent,  so  to  speak?" 

"But  we  will  if  the  idiots  that  would  shut  down 
our  Pyrotechnic  manufactories  are  not  shut  up. 
The  London  Pyro-king  is  trying  to  king  it  here 
now  by  catering  to  the  Independence  Day  senti- 
ment. He  hates  it,  but  he  is  going  to  coin  money 
out  of  it  all  the  same — the  viper !" 

"Head  him  off,  then !  Rule  him  out !  We  ought 
to  manufacture  our  own  implements — especially 

26 


The  Round  About  Road 

the  patriotic  ones  and  handle  them  too  and  teach 
our  boys  how  to  handle  them.  If  we  would  teach 
them  how  to  be  brave  and  do  brave  things — really 
dare  to  do  them,  it  would  be  better  all  around — 
the  planet  included,  most  assuredly  it  would." 

Fons  made  no  reply  to  Schwarmer's  rather  rag- 
ged reasoning,  but  when  he  got  to  the  top  of  the 
hill  he  broke  out: 

"Excuse  me.  I'm  going  back  to  see  if  I  can't 
put  a  little  of  the  dare  devil  stuff  into  that  all  too 
goodish  boy.  I  must  have  a  little  fun  out  of  him 
anyway." 

Don't  be  gone  long,  Fons.  You  must  be  here 
when  your  patriotic  stuffs  are  unloaded.  I  don't 
care  to  be  near  enough  to  smell  powder  if  they 
should  be  handled  too  roughly  or  by  the  wrong 
end." 

"It's  the  little  idiot  that  sits  down  on  my  trade 
that  will  be  likely  to  smell  of  the  powdered  beau- 
ties," laughed  Fons  sardonically. 

"Have  a  care,  youngster.  You  can't  cut  up  here 
as  you  can  in  the  city  without  having  it  known." 

"O !  it's  only  a  little  scare  I'll  treat  him  to.  Boys 
like  to  be  scared,  you  know.  That's  the  secret  of 
success  in  the  money  end  of  the  Pyrotechnic  busi- 
ness." 

Before  he  got  back  to  the  Cornwallis  lot,  he 
saw  the  baggage-man  coming  up  the  hill. 

"Heigho,"  he  exclaimed,  slapping  his  leg — 
"just  in  the  nick  of  time !  Providence  permits !  Now 

27 


The  Independence   Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

I  will  have  some  fun.  Stop  a  bit,  Dan.  I  want 
an  assortment  of  that  patriotic  fervor.  I  am  go- 
ing to  have  a  little  picnic  with  some  boys  right 
here  if  nothing  happens." 

After  he  had  selected  the  things  he  wanted,  he 
slipped  a  dollar  into  Dan's  hand,  saying,  "you 
may  go  on  now,  but  you'd  better  stay  up  with  us 
today,  you  and  your  nag,  and  help  us  celebrate. 
The  women  folks  didn't  come  and  you  haven't 
any  of  those  'pull  backs,'  Schwarmer  tells  me,  so 
we  can  have  a  very  free  time." 

Dan  laughed  and  moved  on.  Fons  carried  his 
boxes  to  a  shady  nook  on  the  steep  bank  just  op- 
posite the  lot  where  Laurens  Cornwallis  was  still 
flying  his  kite.  After  he  had  arranged  them  he 
stopped  and  looked  at  them  with  a  satisfied  air. 
Then  he  selected  a  thing  with  spiral  stripes  of 
red,  white  and  blue. 

"This  will  take  the  boy's  eye  at  once,"  he  said 
to  himself  as  he  climbed  the  hill  to  go  to  the 
Cornwallis  lot.  "I  must  have  invented  it  for  his 
kind  of  eye — a  sort  of  Aaron's  rod — yes,  that's 
what  I'll  name  it — a  bible  name.  That  will  be 
ahead  of  King  Pang's  'Sacred  Mandarin.'  It's 
just  the  ticker  for  a  little  Sunday  school  chub  like 
Laurens." 

When  he  got  to  the  fence  he  saw  that  Laurens 
was  having  trouble  with  his  kite. 

"Providence  permits  again,"  he  muttered  as  he 
jumped  over  into  the  lot. 

28 


The  Round  About  Road 

"Hello  there!  my  dear  fellow,"  he  called  out. 
"I  see  Mistress  Kite  has  gone  back  on  you.  They 
are  always  doing  that  sort  of  trick.  I  had  about 
a  hundred  when  I  was  your  age.  I  know  all  about 
the  pesky  things.  I  can  doctor  it  for  you."  He 
left  Aaron's  rod  by  the  first  tree  he  came  to  and 
went  on. 

Laurens  shied  off  a  little  when  he  saw  he  was 
the  lad  that  was  with  Schwarmer,  but  Fons  paid 
no  attention  to  the  "instinctive  dodge,"  as  he  had 
heard  his  military  professor  call  it.  He  marched 
boldly  up,  took  hold  of  the  kite  and  began  to  fix 
it  as  though  it  belonged  to  him  by  right  of  super- 
ior knowledge  concerning  kites.  Laurens  watched 
him  with  that  kind  of  fascination  which  a  young 
boy  invariably  feels  for  an  older  one,  and  espec- 
ially one  who  has  had  an  experience  with  so  many 
kites  and  had  so  many  implements  in  his  pockets 
to  fix  and  do  things  with  it ;  for  therefrom,  during 
the  process  he  took  all  sorts  of  beautifully  made 
instruments,  ranging  from  a  gold  toothpick  to  a 
silver  match-box  and  gave  them  to  him  to  hold 
while  he  was  diving  into  the  depths  for  his  sharpest 
jack-knife.  Besides,  he  had  a  diamond  ring  on 
his  finger  of  dazzling  brightness  and  a  little  jew- 
elled watch  in  his  vest  pocket,  which  he  pulled  out 
to  see  what  time  of  day  it  was.  After  he  had  fixed 
the  kite  and  sailed  it  across  the  field  several  times, 
he  stopped  short  and  exclaimed: 

"There,  it  sails  beautifully ;  but  I've  had  enough 

29 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

of  it !  Say,  little  'Can't  tell  a  lie.'  I  should  think 
you'd  be  awful  tired  of  the  kite  business.  I  quit 
it  long  before  I  was  as  old  as  you  are.  Why  don't 
you  play  with  something  more  patriotic — some- 
thing like  what  George  Washington  used  to  lick 
the  English  with?  I  don't  blame  you  though  for 
not  wanting  Schwarmer's  cheep  truck;  I've  got 
some  things  that  I  brought  from  the  city — things 
that  I  helped  make  for  our  school  celebration.  They 
are  daisies !  stars  and  stripes  of  just  the  right 
color!  Come  on  and  I'll  show  you  one.  I'm  going 
to  have  a  picnic  down  by  the  river  this  after- 
noon." 

"I'm  afraid  mamma  wouldn't  like  to  have  me  go 
out  of  the  field." 

"O  you  needn't  be  afraid.  It's  liberty  day.  She 
won't  care,  take  my  word  for  it.  I'm  older  than 
you.  Come  on,  you'll  never  have  another  chance 
to  see  my  prettiest  piece.  I  haven't  but  one  left 
and  when  it's  once  let  off  there's  an  end  of  it ;  there 
it  is  leaning  against  the  tree.  Aaron's  rod,  I  call 
it.  Your  Sunday  school  teacher  has  told  you  about 
Aaron's  wonderful  rod.  Come  and  see  how  you  like 
its  namesake." 

Fons  started  off  with  the  kite  in  hand  and  Lau- 
rens  still  had  the  beautiful  implements. 

"Come  on,"  shouted  Tons,  seizing  Aaron's  rod 
and  swinging  it  gayly.  "Catch  me  if  you  can." 

It  was  a  lively  chase.  Over  the  fence,  across  the 
road  and  down  the  steep  bank !  When  they  stopped 

30 


The  Round  About  Road 

they  were  side  by  side  and  both  were  laughing. 
They  had  enjoyed  the  race. 

"Now,"  said  Fons,  "we  are  here  and  if  you  don't 
want  to  see  my  patriotic  piece  you  will  have  to  shut 
your  eyes." 

Laurens  opened  his  eyes  still  wider  instead  of 
shutting  them,  for  Fons  began  to  show  off  at  once. 
It  was  a  very  pretty  show.  The  place  was  in 
deep  shadow  and  the  effect  was  almost  as  vivid  as 
it  would  have  been  at  night. 

"That's  the  style  of  them,"  laughed  Fons  after 
he  had  finished  the  piece.  "I  see  you  like  it.  Now 
you  stay  here  while  I  run  up  to  the  house  and  get 
some  lemons  and  candy ;  and  don't  let  any  bad  boys 
run  off  with  my  things." 

What  Fons  really  did  was  to  go  up  to  the 
Schwarmer  stables,  where  he  found  an  army  of 
small  boys  to  whom  Schwarmer  was  distributing 
packages  of  Fourth  of  July  fireworks.  He  watched 
them  and  saw  a  squad  of  four  rough  little  rascals 
who  were  trying  to  get  a  double  or  perhaps  a 
quadruple  supply.  They  were  changing  caps  with 
each  other  and  holding  each  other's  boxes. 

"Here  boys,"  he  said,  calling  them  aside,  "I 
know  what  you  want.  You  haven't  got  your  share 
and  some  others  have  more  than  their  share.  I 
can  fix  that  for  you.  I  was  a  boy  myself  only  a 
little  while  ago.  There's  a  boy  down  by  the  river 
just  opposite  the  big  Cornwallis  lot  who  has  a 
great  lot  of  the  very  best  kind  of  fireworks — stars 

31 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

and  garters,  Johnny- jump-ups  and  Yankee-doo- 
dle-doos.  You  go  down  there  and  make  him  divide 
up.  You  can  swipe  him  easy  enough.  He's  a  lit- 
tle Sunday-school  angel,  who  wants  to  celebrate 
all  by  himself.  You'll  know  him.  He  is  rigged 
out  in  the  Can't-tell-a-lie  George  Washington 
style." 

Fons'  intention  was  to  go  down  to  the  river's 
bank,  secrete  himself  where  the  boys  couldn't  see 
him  and  watch  them  while  they  fought  it  out;  but 
his  plan  was  baffled  by  an  unexpeced  event. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  ALARM. 

"V"-T« — 'T'S  ten  o'clock  already!"  exclaimed  Mrs. 
Cornwallis  as  she  finished  her  bath. 

^ B  -^  But  everything  is  in  perfect  order  now 

except  ourselves.  There's  that  dread- 
ful cannon  again !  It  made  me  shiver  this  time." 
Then  she  added  anxiously,  "Where's  Laurens? 
Have  you  heard  him  come  in?  I  never  knew  him 
to  stay  out  so  long." 

"No,  I  haven't,"  replied  Ruth,  taking  the  alarm. 
"Please  help  me  on  with  my  dress  and  I'll  go  after 
him." 

"He  must  be  having  a  high  time  with  his  new 
kite  this  morning,"  said  Mrs.  Cornwallis  as  she  put 
on  Ruth's  pretty  white  frock.  "Here,  wait  a  mo- 
ment, then  you  can  stay  out  with  him  as  long  as 
you  like." 

She  tied  the  blue  sash  into  a  graceful  knot  and 
fastened  a  cluster  of  red  roses  on  her  corsage  with 
a  resolute  hand,  for  she  would  not  believe  that  any 
harm  had  befallen  her  boy. 

33 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

Ruth  hastened  out  and  Mrs.  Cornwallis  proceed- 
ed to  finish  her  own  toilet.  A  few  moments  after- 
wards she  was  smiling  at  her  foolish  fears  and 
saying  to  herself,  they  are  having  a  lovely  time 
now,  playing  together — the  blessed  children! 

She  was  going  to  wear  white,  pure  white  just 
as  she  did  when  she  was  married,  but  she  had  a  red, 
white  and  blue  knot  for  her  throat  and  she  was  fas- 
tening it  on  with  a  sapphire  brooch  that  belonged 
to  the  same  set  of  the  sapphire  buttons  with  which 
she  had  fastened  little  Lauren's  George  Washing- 
ton ruff,  when  Ruth  burst  into  the  room,  crying : 

"O  mamma !  mamma !  I  can't  see  him  any- 
where." 

"I've  looked  all  over  the  field!  I've  called  and 
called  but  he  did  not  answer!  O!  he's  lost!  he's 
lost! 

"No !  No !  Ruth.  He  must  be  somewhere  about 
the  premises."  Hand  in  hand  they  went  all  over 
the  house  and  grounds,  but  they  did  not  find  him. 

"O  I'm  so  afraid,"  sobbed  Ruth !  "Where  shall 
we  look  now?" 

"Perhaps  he  had  trouble  with  his  kite  and  went 
over  to  Ralph  Norwood's  to  have  him  fix  it.  He 
did  that  way  with  papa  last  year.  We  will  go  and 
see  what  he  thinks  about  it." 

Mr.  Cornwallis  was  of  his  wife's  opinion. 

"Don't  be  frightened,"  he  said.  "Go  home  and 
look  the  premises  over  again  and  wait  for  him 
there  while  I  go  to  Norwoods." 

34 


The  Alarm 

The  Norwoods  lived  at  the  opposite  end  of  the 
town  fully  a  mile  away.  The  most  direct  course 
ran  through  the  public  square.  Mr.  Cornwallis 
went  on  in  that  direction,  making  his  way  as  rap- 
idly as  possible  through  streets  that  were  already 
strewn  with  firecrackers  and  torpedoes.  It  seemed 
to  him  that  he  had  never  before  seen  so  many  of  all 
sorts  and  sizes  in  the  town  of  Killsbury.  Wher- 
ever there  was  a  boy  there  was  a  fusilade  of  the 
evil-smelling  things.  Wherever  there  were  several 
boys,  small  cannons  and  cartridges  added  to  the 
noise  and  danger.  Was  it  his  anxiety  about  his 
own  boy  that  made  it  seem  so  much  worse  than  ever 
before,  or  was  it  a  day  of  unusual  horror  in  Kills- 
bury?  When  he  reached  the  Public  Square  the 
question  was  answered.  The  scene  beggared  de- 
scription. The  air  was  full  of  stench,  smoke, 
hisses,  cries  of  fright,  hurt  and  brutal  laughter. 
Horses,  dogs  and  babies  were  fired  at  indiscrimin- 
ately. It  seemed  as  though  all  the  boys  in  Kills- 
bury  and  the  surrounding  country  must  have  as- 
sembled there  and  were  trying  to  do  their  worst — 
as  though  they  had  made  a  concerted  attempt  to 
seize  the  Public  Square  in  army  fashion  and  fire 
upon  every  one  who  attempted  to  enter  it  from 
any  of  the  streets ;  for  squads  of  them  stood  at 
every  corner. 

Mr.  Cornwallis  saw  that  it  would  be  impossible 
to  cross  the  square  safely  and  he  was  in  haste  to 
reach  Norwoods'  and  find  out  if  his  boy  were  there. 

35 


The   Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

His  boy !  Had  not  a  monster  seized  the  town  and 
swallowed  up  his  boy  already?  He  pushed  his  way 
desperately  to  a  side  street  hoping  to  avoid  fur- 
ther delay.  As  he  turned  the  corner  he  saw  a  large 
load  of  people  headed  for  the  square.  He  looked 
again  and  recognized  the  Rundels — a  family  of 
hard  working  farmers — eleven  in  all,  counting  the 
aged  grandfather  and  grandmother  and  an  uncle 
and  aunt.  They  were  accustomed  to  driving  into 
town  on  Independence  Day  to  help  celebrate  and 
have  a  little  pleasant  diversion.  They  were  in  hol- 
iday mood  and  array  and  were  coming  on  at  a  live- 
ly pace. 

"Good  God!"  exclaimed  Cornwallis,  "It  will  not 
do  for  them  to  drive  into  that  infernal  place." 

He  ran  after  them  and  called  on  them  to  stop; 
but  he  called  in  vain.  They  were  on  a  down  hill 
grade  and  before  the  driver  could  check  the  horses, 
a  fusilade  of  fireworks  struck  them  and  they 
rushed  madly  into  the  square.  Women  with  young 
children  sought  refuge  in  the  nearest  shops.  Men 
and  boys  fell  over  each  other,  trying  to  get  out 
of  the  way  of  the  infuriated  beasts.  The  helpless 
family  by  some  sort  of  loving  instinct  huddled  to- 
gether in  the  bottom  of  the  staunch  old  hayrack — 
the  children  and  grandparents  in  the  center  and  the 
others  on  the  outside  encircling  them  with  their 
strong  arms.  When  the  crash  came,  which  was 
caused  by  running  against  the  town  pump,  they 
were  all  thrown  out  in  a  heap,  the  horses  wheeled 

36 


The  Alarm 

about  and  stood  gazing  at  them  apparently  aghast 
at  the  deed  they  had  helped  to  commit. 

Fortunately,  none  of  them  were  killed.  One  of 
the  girls  had  a  sprained  wrist,  one  of  the  boys  a 
sprained  ankle,  the  aunt  a  dislocated  shoulder,  and 
the  father  and  mother  were  badly  bruised ;  but  af- 
ter the  cheering  report  of  the  Doctor,  they  inclined 
to  take  their  misfortunes  resignedly  and  thank  the 
Lord  they  were  no  worse — quite  as  though  they 
had  been  necessary  martyrs  to  the  noble  cause  of 
American  freedom,  instead  of  the  sport  of  mis- 
chievous boys,  and  victims  of  an  outrageous  custom. 

"O !  what  a  terrible  world  this  is  getting  to  be ! 
Too  terrible  for  any  innocent  child  to  live  in,"  Mr. 
Cornwallis  repeated  to  himself  again  and  again 
as  he  continued  his  way  to  the  Norwoods'.  With- 
out being  distinctly  conscious  of  it  he  was  prepar- 
ing himself  for  the  disappointment  and  grief 
.vhich  awaited  him. 

Laurens  had  not  been  there  and  they  had  seen 
nothing  of  him. 

"Come  with  me,  Ralph,  and  help  me  find  him. 
It's  a  terrible  day  down  town." 

"So  Police  Haggard  told  father.  I'll  go  and 
see  if  he  can  help  us.  He  has  just  driven  in  the 
stable  with  his  horse." 

He  returned,  saying  that  his  father  would  drive 
over  to  the  cottage  and  see  if  Laurens  had  re- 
turned and  if  not  he  would  see  Haggard  and  have 
a  regular  search  instituted." 

37 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

"But  the  Police  are  in  full  force  at  the  Square 
and  a  horse  is  not  safe  in  the  street." 

"Never  fear,  he  will  manage  with  gentle  Bess. 
He  thinks  we  had  better  go  back  by  the  river.  He 
may  have  been  chasing  his  kite  and — ' 

Ralph  broke  off  crying,  "O  I  shall  never  for- 
give myself  if  the  kite  has  been  the  cause  of  his 
death." 

They  hastened  on  making  inquiries  of  every- 
body they  met.  They  met  Dr.  Muelenberg  as  they 
were  turning  from  the  road  to  go  down  the  bank. 

"O  Doctor!  do  you  know?"  gasped  Mr.  Corn- 
wallis. 

"Yes,  yes,  I  just  came  from  your  house  to  hunt 
for  him.  I  went  there  to  celebrate  his  birthday 
and  the  dear  little  fellow  was  not  there.  We  must 
look  well  to  the  river." 

They  started  down  the  bank. 

"O  the  kite,  the  kite!"  exclaimed  Ralph!  "See! 
see !  over  there  by  the  pine  trees !  Perhaps  he  was 
tired  of  chasing  it  and  has  fallen  asleep !" 

He  rushed  on  crying  "Laurens !  Laurens  wake 
up !  wake  up !" 

The  next  moment  he  stumbled  over  a  strange 
distorted,  discolored  figure.  When  the  Doctor  and 
Mr.  Cornwallis  came  up  he  stood  looking  at  it  in  a 
dazed  way. 

"It  can't  be  Laurens !  It  can't  be  possible  he 
could  be  so  changed!  Tell  me  it  can't,  Doctor," 
he  pleaded. 

38 


The  Alarm 

The  Doctor  shook  his  head.  "Not  a  trace !  Not 
a  feature!  It  may  be  some  other  boy,  but  how 
shall  we  decide?" 

"God  only  knows,"  said  Mr.  Cornwallis  turning 
away  from  the  unbearable  sight. 

The  Doctor  drew  nearer  as  he  felt  it  his  duty 
to  do,  and  looked  at  the  frightful  figure  more  close- 

iy- 

"If  it's  your  son,  Mr.  Cornwallis,  perhaps  you 
will  know  him  by  some  mark.  I  think  the  back  of 
the  head  has  not  been  much  burned.  I  see  the 
remnant  of  a  cap." 

He  paused  a  moment  to  gather  new  courage. 
Then  he  raised  the  head  and  removed  the  bit  of 
cap.  Underneath  it  were  Laurens'  beautiful  curls ! 

Ralph  fainted  and  the  two  men  fell  upon  the 
ground,  clutching  each  other  in  agony. 

"Mien  Gott!  Mien  Gott,"  exclaimed  Dr.  Muel- 
enberg  at  last.  "You  have  one  thing  to  be  thank- 
ful for.  Death  was  instantaneous.  He  was  not 
saved  to  die  in  the  awful  toils  of  Tetanus" 


CHAPTER  IV. 

RISUS   SARDONICUS. 

EFORE  night — yes,  even  before  the  can- 
non on  Schwarmer  Hill  had  ceased  to 
boom,  everybody  in  Killsbury  knew  of  the 
terrible  sorrow  that  had  befallen  the  Corn- 
wallis  family.  Little  Laurens  had  been  brought 
home  dead  and  disfigured  beyond  recognition.  His 
father  and  mother  were  wild  with  grief  and  his 
sister  Ruth  was  stricken  down  with  brain  fever. 
Neighbors  and  townspeople  came  and  saw  and 
went  away  shocked  and  silent.  It  was  plain  to  be 
seen  that  it  was  one  of  those  mysterious  Fourth  of 
July  accidents  that  will  happen  now  and  then, 
and  few  indeed  were  brave  enough  to  ask  just  how 
it  happened  or  why  such  accidents  should  be  made 
possible.  The  majority  of  the  people  of  Killsbury 
would  as  soon  have  thought  of  questioning  the 
ways  of  Providence  or  the  rights  of  the  whirlwind 
as  they  would  of  questioning  the  doings  of  "the 
small  boy,"  or  denying  his  right  to  go  whitherso- 
ever he  listeth  on  our  free  and  glorious  Indepen- 
dence Day. 

40 


Risus  SardonicuS 

The  Reverend  Dr.  Normander,  however,  was  not 
exactly  of  this  stamp.  He  was  beginning  at  least, 
to  think  seriously  about  the  matter.  Passing  strange 
it  seemed  to  him  that  the  day  which  should  be  the 
most  beautifully  and  joyously  free,  had  become  the 
most  fearful  to  the  best  and  most  truly  patriotic 
citizens  of  the  town ;  and  that  said  citizens  should 
consent  to  it  and  encourage  it  as  so  many  did.  Mr. 
Schwarmer,  at  least,  encouraged  it  most  decidedly 
by  distributing  fireworks  to  the  boys.  He  had 
been  thinking  of  speaking  to  him  about  it  for 
some  time.  Whether  he  had  given  Laurens  Corn- 
wallis  the  fireworks  that  had  caused  his  death  or 
not,  he  felt  that  the  time  had  come  to  utter  his 
warning  against  such  a  practice  and  ask  him  as  a 
citizen  of  influence  to  make  his  gifts  of  a  harmless 
nature.  He  called  on  him  the  next  morning  for 
that  purpose. 

"You  have  heard  of  little  Laurens  Cornwallis's 
terrible  death  I  suppose,  Mr.  Schwarmer?" 

"Yes,  I  heard  of  it  last  night.  It  was  very,  very 
sad,  most  assuredly  it  was,  Dr.  Normander." 

"The  mystery  is  where  he  got  the  fireworks,  Mr. 
Schwarmer.  He  went  out  into  the  field  to  fly  his 
kite.  He  had  no  fireworks  and  no  money  to  buy 
any.  His  parents  do  not  approve  of  putting  such 
dangerous  things  into  the  hands  of  children.  His 
mother  thinks  he  must  have  been  seized  upon 
by  older  boys  and  compelled  to  take  part  in,  or 
witness  their  sports.  However  the  case  may  be, 

41 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

I  have  been  asked  so  many  times  by  friends  and 
acquaintances  if  it  were  true  that  he  came  up  here 
and  you  gave  him  the  fireworks,  that  I  felt  it  my 
duty  to  ask  you  personally." 

"This  is  my  answer  for  one  and  all,  Dr.  Nor- 
mander.  He  did  not  come  here  and  I  did  not  give 
him  any  firecrackers.  You  may  set  that  down  as 
gospel  truth,  most  assuredly  you  may." 

"I  am  glad  to  hear  it  and  be  able  to  refute  the 
rumor;  still  I  feel  that  I  shall  not  have  done  my 
whole  duty  without  telling  you  that  I  fear  your 
custom  of  distributing  fireworks  to  the  boys  is 
having  a  very  bad  effect.  I  have  noticed  an  alarm- 
ing increase  of  Independence  Day  accidents  since 
you  inaugurated  the  custom.  Yesterday  was  the 
worst  of  all.  I  was  told  that  the  Public  Square 
was  a  more  dangerous  place  than  if  it  had  been  in- 
vaded by  a  foreign  enemy — that  the  boys  really 
took  possession  of  it  and  fired  at  everybody  who 
attempted  to  enter. 

Mr.  Schwarmer  laughed.  "Well  that's  no  fault 
of  mine,  Dr.  Normander.  Any  sensible  man  knows 
that  there  isn't  enough  powder  in  one  of  my  little 
packages  to  hurt  any  child.  He  couldn't  more 
than  scorch  his  fingers  were  he  to  let  them  all  off 
at  once — rest  assured  he  couldn't.  He  couldn't 
more  than  learn  'The  burnt  child  dreads  the  fire' 
adage,  which  every  child  has  got  to  learn  sooner  or 
later." 

"But  if  a  large  number  of  boys  should  club  to- 

42 


Risus  Sardonicus 

gether  and  every  one  had  a  box,  Mr.  Schwarmer? 
What  then?" 

"O  that  would  be  another  affair,  Dr.  Norman- 
der.  The  parents  and  the  police  should  regulate 
a  thing  of  that  kind — most  assuredly  they  should 
— the  parents  primarily." 

"But  parents  can't  always  stand  on  guard,  Mr. 
Schwarmer." 

"I  thought  that  was  what  parents  were  for — to 
guard  their  own  children,  Dr.  Normander.  If  I 
should  attempt  to  guard  other  people's  children  I 
should  expect  to  be  told  that  my  services  were  not 
wanted,  most  assuredly  I  should;  and  if  I  give  a 
boy  a  box  of  firecrackers  to  honor  his  country 
with,  I  consider  it's  his  parents'  business  to  see 
that  he  makes  the  right  use  of  it,  just  as  it  would 
be  their  business  to  see  that  he  made  the  right  use 
of  a  Sunday  School  book  that  you  might  give  him 
to  honor  his  God  with !  No  knowing  but  he  would 
take  a  notion  to  set  a  match  to  the  one  thing  or 
the  other,  or  the  whole  thing,  if  left  to  himself  long 
enough — in  which  case  he  would  be  apt  to  burn 
his  fingers  and  perhaps  burn  himself  up  and  the 
whole  house  too ;  but  neither  you  nor  I  would  be  to 
blame,  I  take  it,"  laughed  Schwarmer. 

Dr.  Normander  was  amazed  at  such  levity  and 
reasoning  or  lack  of  reason;  but  he  replied  with 
becoming  patience:  "Not  for  what  we  could  not 
foresee  or  avoid,  Mr.  Schwarmer.  Every  mature  in- 
dividual knows  that  all  kinds  of  explosives  are  more 

43 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

or  less  dangerous.  There  is  a  lurking  devil  in 
them  that  it  will  not  do  to  play  with.  They  should 
not  be  used  unless  it  is  absolutely  necessary  and 
then  only  by  experienecd  hands.  Surely,  it  would 
be  very  easy  for  you  to  withhold  your  gifts  to  the 
boys,  or  make  them  of  a  non-explosive  character. 
You  might  try  it  next  year  and  note  the  results  in 
the  death  and  accident  list.  I  think  it  would  not 
only  be  right  for  you  to  do  so,  but  the  part  of 
wisdom,  as  quite  a  number,  especially  those  moth- 
ers who  have  had  their  boys  seriously  hurt  by  the 
explosives  which  you  have  given  them,  are  being 
very  much  exercised  about  the  matter." 

"Bless  their  hearts !"  exclaimed  Schwarmer  red- 
dening perceptibly,  "I  suppose  they  think  I  own 
the  Fourth  of  July  and  must  run  it  and  be  respon- 
sible for  everything  that  goes  amiss.  Now  I  sup- 
pose they'll  try  to  blame  me  for  old  Dan's  death. 
You  know  old  Captain  Dan  Solomon — the  express- 
man. He  came  up  here  yesterday  and  insisted  on 
letting  off  the  cannon.  I  couldn't  refuse  him.  It 
was  Liberty  day,  you  know.  The  day  didn't  be- 
long to  me  any  more  than  it  did  to  anybody  else, 
nor  the  cannon  either.  I  dedicated  it  to  the  town 
to  begin  with,  so  old  Dan  did  as  he  chose.  He  was 
careless  with  it  at  the  sundown  charge  and  it  burst 
and  killed  him.  Come  and  see  him.  They  have  him 
all  nicely  laid  out  in  the  coachman's  apartment." 

"Indeed !  I  had  not  heard  of  this,"  said  Doctor 
Normander.  He  arose  in  astonishment  and  fol- 

44 


Risus  Sardonicus 

lowed  Mr.  Schwarmer  to  the  stable.  One  look  was 
as  much  as  he  could  endure.  He  turned  away  in 
silence  and  went  wearily  down  the  hill.  He  was 
convinced  that  Schwarmer  did  not  give  little  Lau- 
rens  Cornwallis  the  explosives  that  caused  his 
death ;  but  he  was  still  more  thoroughly  convinced 
that  he  was  responsible  through  his  influence  and 
example  for  the  alarming  increase  of  accidents  in 
the  town ;  but  beyond  all  lay  the  dread  conviction 
that  the  evil  was  coexistent  with  our  body  politic 
and  that  the  parents  and  people  in  general  had 
become  so  inured  to  it — so  dead  to  its  enormity 
that  it  would  be  well  nigh  impossible  to  bring 
about  any  essential  reform. 

The  Saturday  after  the  burial  of  Laurens  Corn- 
wallis, Dr.  Normander  rose  feeling  quite  ill,  but 
he  would  not  give  up.  He  seized  his  hat  and  went 
out  to  walk. 

When  he  reached  the  first  avenue  he  looked  up 
and  saw  Father  Ferrill  crossing  the  street  at  a 
rapid  pace. 

"Father !  Father !"  he  called  out  involuntarily, 
"has  anything  happened — anything  more?"  He 
held  out  both  hands.  He  had  never  before  felt  so 
keenly  the  need  of  a  brother  worker,  or  rather  a 
father  worker.  The  aged  priest  came  up,  took  his 
hands  tenderly  in  his  own  and  said: 

"I  have  just  been  summoned  to  the  bedside  of 
the  Widow  Pressneau's  little  boy.  I  fear  it  is  a 
case  of  Tetanus  beyond  hope,  it  has  developed  so 

45 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

rapidly.  On  the  Fourth  he  shot  his  hand  with  a 
toy  pistol  which  was  given  him  to  celebrate  with." 

"O  Father!  and  yet  another!  Let  me  take  your 
arm ;  I  feel  faint."  The  torn  face  of  poor  old  Dan 
Solomon  and  the  terrible  death  of  Laurens  Corn- 
wallis  have  been  too  great  a  strain." 

They  walked  on  in  silence.  As  they  neared  the 
widow's  house,  Father  Ferrill  said : 

"If  you  have  never  witnessed  a  case  of  Tetanus 
I  advise  you  not  to  go  in,  my  son." 

"I  never  have,  but  I  think  I  ought  to  know 
what  is  going  on  about  me,  Father,  and  perhaps  I 
can  help.  I  feel  better  now.  I  will  hunt  up  Doc- 
tor Muelenberg  if  he  is  not  already  there.  He  has 
had  a  large  experience  in  such  cases." 

"That  is  very  kind,  my  son ;  but  I  hardly  think 
his  services  will  be  of  any  use.  When  the  case 
develops  so  rapidly  there  is  little  chance  of  recov- 
ery. Besides,  I  know  how  to  apply  the  usual  rem- 
edies. Our  people  are  so  poor  as  a  class  that  it 
is  necessary  we  should  be  physicians  to  the  body 
as  well  as  the  soul." 

"Still,  I  would  go  with  you,  Father.  I  must 
learn  the  needed  lesson.  This  terrible  thing  is  clos- 
ing in  upon  us  more  and  more.  Why  is  it,  Father?" 

"War!  War!  primarily  my  son.  This  vile  dis- 
ease used  to  be  the  aftermath  of  battlefields  in  the 
old  countries.  Here  it  is  the  Independence  Day 
disease;  but  the  brute-elements  are  being  let  loose 
all  over  the  world.  They  are  growing  too  strong 

46 


Risus  Sardonicus 

for  us  and  we  cannot  hold  them  in  leash,"  whis- 
pered Father  Ferrill  as  he  opened  the  Widow  Press- 
neau's  door  noiselessly,  pushed  Dr.  Normander  in 
before  him  and  shut  it  quickly.  His  next  move- 
ment was  to  pull  down  the  shades  through  which 
the  hot  July  sun  was  streaming.  The  dexterity 
with  which  he  performed  the  three  essentials  for 
the  comfort  of  the  patient  afflicted  with  this  fell 
disease  was  admirable,  although  it  was  of  no  use 
for  the  moment  as  the  boy  was  in  the  throes  of  that 
species  of  mortal  agony,  before  which  the  curtain 
is  drawn  all  too  often  for  the  enlightenment  of  suf- 
fering humanity. 

"Father!  Father!  what  have  I  done  that  my 
child  should  be  so  tormented?"  cried  the  mother  as 
she  sank  down  by  the  bedside  with  broken  sobs  and 
words  of  supplication. 

The  priest  took  her  place  and  waited  with 
crossed  hands  through  convulsion  after  con- 
vulsion, each  of  which  was  more  terrible  than 
the  former  one  until  nothing  worse  could  be 
imagined.  The  muscles  were  strained  to  their  ut- 
most tensity.  The  body  was  bent  like  a  bow  but 
the  most  unbearable  of  all  was  the  drawn  face  and 
the  awful  semblance  of  laughter  that  has  been  fitly 
called  risus  sardonicus.  Dr.  Normander  closed  his 
eyes  and  the  mother  cried  out  again  in  direst 
agony : 

"Father !  Father !  what  have  I  done  that  the  evil 
spirits  should  take  possession  of  my  child?" 

47 


The   Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

"Poor  mother,  thou  hast  been  more  sinned 
against  than  sinning  I  preceive;  but  hasten  now 
and  get  hot  cloths  ready  for  the  next  attack;  for 
there  will  doubtless  be  another  and  another,  al- 
though his  face  shows  signs  of  relaxing  and  he 
may  be  able  to  speak  to  thee  and  answer  thy 
questionings." 

The  mother  went  out  and  the  boy  lay  as  still 
as  a  stone  under  the  Priest's  treatment  for  a  few 
moments.  Then  he  gave  a  great  gasp  and  cried: 

"Mother!  Mother!  Forgive  me  before  I  go.  I 
minded  the  rich  man.  I  should  have  minded  thee. 
The  rich  man  said  the  little  play-pistol  would  not 
hurt  me.  It  did  hurt  me,  mother.  It  was  a  foul 
fiend.  He  took  the  cross  in  his  little  wounded 
hand  and  clasped  it  like  a  vise  against  his  heart 
and  even  into  the  tender  flesh  until  it  left  its  mark 
there.  His  lips  twitched  and  quivered  as  though 
they  were  being  drawn  again  into  the  awful  laugh. 

"Risus  sardonicus,"  cried  the  priest,  "Jesus 
have  mercy !" 

"Jesus  have  mercy !"  cried  the  mother. 

"Jesus  have  mercy!"  whispered  Dr.  Norman- 
der. 

"Jesus  have  mercy !"  cried  the  boy  in  a  note  of 
triumph.  The  strained  lips  relaxed  and  parted 
with  a  heavenly  smile  and  the  widow's  child  had 
gone  to  meet  the  widow's  God. 


48 


fi 


CHAPTER  V. 

INSANITY  OR   EXILE. 

OR  weeks  and  weeks  after  the  terrible 
death  of  Laurens  Cornwallis,  the  life  of 
his  sister  Ruth  hung  on  a  thread.  She 
was  delirious.  She  cried  out  incessantly. 

"O  Laurens !  Laurens !  beautiful  angel !  Come 
back !  come  back !  Speak  to  me  Laurens !  Kiss  me, 
Laurens !" 

They  feared  her  brain  was  going. 

"If  we  could  only  make  her  think  he  had  come 
back,"  said  the  perplexed  doctor — "create  a  sort 
of  counter  delusion." 

They  tried  it  each  in  turn  with  no  effect — the 
mother  at  last. 

"Oh,  she  does  not  even  hear  me,"  sobbed  the 
mother.  "Her  sense  of  hearing  must  be  already 
gone,  only  her  sight  remains.  Her  eyes  were 
fixed  on  the  door  in  the  far  end  of  the  room,  as 
though  she  expected  to  see  him  come  through  that 
door,  when  she  calls." 

This  gave  the  doctor  a  new  idea. 

Then  we  must  have  some  one  that  looks  like 

49 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

him  come  through  that  door,  in  response  to  her 
call — some  one  that  knew  him  and  loved  him  and 
would  be  in  full  sympathy  with  her  in  regard  to 
his  death." 

"Ralph  Norwood!"  exclaimed  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Cornwallis  in  the  same  breath. 

"And  he  must  have  the  kite  in  his  hand,"  said 
Mr.  Cornwallis. 

"Yes,  and  I  must  make  him  a  George  Washing- 
ton cap  and  whole  suit  if  necessary"  said  Mrs. 
Cornwallis.  "Ralph  is  older  but  he  is  small  of  his 
age  and  Laurens  was  large.  Besides  he  is  re- 
sourceful. He  might  make  himself  look  younger 
than  he  is." 

Ralph  was  sent  for  at  once.  He  too,  had  been 
ill  from  the  shock  of  Lauren's  death  but  he  aroused 
himself  and  came  to  the  rescue.  He  dressed  him- 
self in  the  George  Washington  suit.  He  donned 
the  Can't-tett-a-lie  cap  which  Mrs.  Cornwallis  had 
made  the  crowning  glory,  by  adding  to  it  Lauren's 
beautiful  curls,  which  had  been  clipped  from  his 
head  by  the  thoughtful  undertaker. 

He  took  the  kite  in  hand  and  waited  by  the  door 
until  Ruth  called  out: 

"Laurens  come  back!  Come  back!  Speak  to  me 
angel !  kiss  me !" 

Then  he  opened  the  door  and  responded  to  the 
call.  The  effect  was  magical.  She  fancied  it  was 
Laurens.  She  talked  and  laughed  and  slept  in 
that  belief.  When  she  awoke,  she  took  her  food 

50 


Insanity  or  Exile 

and  medicine  from  his  hand.  She  did  whatever 
he  asked  her  to  do.  She  was  finally  saved,  brain 
intact. 

But  this  was  not  the  end  of  little  Ruth's  misery 
and  the  anxiety  of  her  parents.  She  was  in  a 
state  of  nervous  wreck  that  required  fully  as  much 
watchfulness,  if  not  quite  so  much  solicitude  as 
that  of  the  mental  stress.  Sudden  noises,  espec- 
ially those  of  an  explosive  nature,  such  as  the  fir- 
ing of  a  gun  or  pistol,  would  cause  a  nervous 
shock,  from  which  it  would  take  days  and  often 
weeks  to  recover.  But  worse  than  all  was  her  hor- 
ror of  Independence  Day.  She  looked  forward  to 
its  coming  with  a  dread,  akin  to  terror. 

"O  what  shall  we  do  now,  Doctor?  What  can 
we  do?"  asked  her  mother. 

"Take  her  away  out  of  sight  and  sound  of  it," 
replied  the  doctor,  "and  give  her  immediate  assur- 
ance that  you  will  do  so." 

"But  where  to  go,  Doctor?  This  terrible  thing 
is  everywhere  more  or  less." 

"Out  of  the  country.  To  Europe  or  Canada, 
where  they  don't  pretend  to  have  an  Independence 
Day,"  replied  the  doctor,  smiling  grimly. 

"O  Doctor!  What  cruel  mockery  is  this — this 
being  compelled  to  go  away  from  our  home!  It 
seems  such  a  shame — a  positive  disgrace!" 

"They  are  not  to  be  weighed  in  the  balance, 
said  the  doctor  seriously.  "It  is  a  matter  of  life 
or  death,  nerve  or  no  nerve,  to  your  child.  If  you 

51 


The  Independence   Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

will  begin  promptly  and  continue  to  take  her 
away  every  year  as  long  as  the  present  symptoms 
remain,  she  may  get  well  in  time.  Otherwise  I  will 
not  answer  for  the  result.  Another  Independence 
Day  as  full  of  racket  and  accident  as  the  last, 
would  be  likely  to  bring  on  a  mental  lapse,  for 
which  there  would  be  no  hope.  The  only  really 
safe  thing  to  do  is  to  take  a  month's  vacation — 
that  is,  go  out  of  the  country  three  weeks  before 
Independence  Day  and  stay  until  two  weeks  after. 
That  would  cover  the  time  which  is  usually  seized 
upon  by  the  independent  and  ignorant  boys  and 
hoodlums  of  the  community,  to  put  the  rest  of  the 
people  in  chains  and  agony — or  exile." 

"O !  O !  Doctor !  Is  there  no  better  way  ?  Could 
we  not  go  among  them  and  talk  to  them  and  tell 
them  just  how  it  is  with  us  and  ask  them  to  be 
quiet?" 

The  doctor  shook  his  head.  "I  have  tried  that 
without  effect  more  than  once  in  the  case  of  very 
sick  patients.  It  will  take  years  of  talk  and  legis- 
lation and  education  to  silence  the  loud-mouthed 
monster — and  you  can't  wait  for  that. 

"Lord  help  us  to  do  it  then  and  bring  us  out 
of  it  with  health  and  strength  to  fight  against  this 
terrible  evil!"  sobbed  Mrs.  Cornwallis.  "O,  it 
seems  to  me  there  is  no  place  in  this  world  for  the 
sick,  the  helpless,  and  the  afraid." 

"Not  even  in  your  beautiful  new  world,"  said 
the  doctor.  He  was  a  German  but  he  was  honest 

52 


Insanity  or  Exile 

and  the  reply  struck  home  with  double  force.  She 
held  a  long  consultation  with  her  husband  that 
evening  and  they  decided  to  carry  out  his  in- 
structions faithfully.  Consequently  every  year 
before  the  Independence  Day  racket  began 
they  sought  out  a  quiet  spot  on  the  Cana- 
dian border — or  rather  a  place  where  the  Ameri- 
can citizen  freighted  with  children  and  firecrackers 
was  never  known  to  come.  It  was  not  always  an 
easy  or  an  agreeable  task,  to  find  just  such  a 
place ;  but  it  had  to  be  found,  else  the  going  away 
would  be  of  no  avail. 

Ralph  was  invited  to  go  with  them  at  first  and 
did  go  as  a  matter  of  course,  until  one  fateful  year 
when  the  parents  suddenly  awoke  to  the  fact  that 
Ralph  was  growing  a  mustache  and  Ruth  was  de- 
veloping into  a  rather  shy  but  pretty  young  maid- 
en. The  next  year  they  went  without  him;  and 
the  next.  Then  the  unexpected  happened.  Ruth 
was  disinclined  to  go,  to  begin  with;  but  the  doc- 
tor shook  his  head  and  they  went.  They  had 
been  there  only  a  few  days,  however,  when  the  long 
avoided  American  family  made  a  descent  on  the 
boarding  house. 

"Yes,  here  they  are  at  last,"  said  Mr.  Corn- 
wallis,  as  soon  as  he  had  given  them  a  thorough 
looking  over — "the  pestiferous  boys,  the  rackety 
firecrackers,  the  indulgent  mamma  and  the  blind- 
ly patriotic  papa,  if  I  mistake  not.  I  fear  we 
shall  have  to  move  on." 

53 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

"No!  no,  papa!  Let's  stay.  I'm  sure  I  can 
endure  it  now.  I'm  so  much  better  and  perhaps 
we  can  talk  to  them  and  tell  them  about  our  ex- 
perience with  the  dangerous  things  and  make 
them  more  careful.  Let's  try  it,  papa.  I  hate 
the  idea  of  running  away  from  our  own  people. 
I  begin  to  think  it  isn't  quite  right." 

"It's  far  safer  to  stay  here  than  to  go  home," 
remarked  Mrs.  Cornwallis,  "where  there  are  hun- 
dreds of  armed  boys  to  the  four  that  are  here. 

Mr.  Cornwallis  gave  it  up  and  they  stayed. 

Ruth  lost  no  time  in  making  the  acquaintance 
of  the  American  family,  at  least  of  Mrs.  Bearing- 
ton  and  the  boys,  nor  any  opportunity  of  impress- 
ing upon  them  the  danger  of  playing  with  fire- 
works. She  gave  her  own  experience  as  proof. 
She  told  them  of  the  terrible  accidents  that  had 
happened  in  her  own  town  and  of  her  little  broth- 
er's mysterious  death  that  had  wrecked  her  health, 
broken  her  father's  and  mother's  hearts  and  made 
them  fugitives  from  home. 

"Do  you  hear  that,  Robbie,"  said  Mrs.  Bear- 
ington  to  her  oldest  son.  "You  know  that  mamma 
has  always  been  afraid  you  would  get  hurt,  hand- 
ling those  dreadful  things." 

"Papa  bought  them  for  us  and  I  want  mine  now," 
said  the  boy  bluntly.  "I  know  how  to  handle 
them." 

"Have  a  care  my  boy.  You  may  not  know  as 
much  as  you  think  you  do.  If  you  should  have 

54 


Insanity  or  Exile 

an  accident,  your  papa  would  never  buy  any  more 
for  you,  and  mamma  would  never  forgive  herself," 
said  Mrs.  Bearington  in  her  soft-hearted,  unreas- 
oning way. 

"But  the  accident!"  gasped  Ruth.  "How  can 
you  risk  it?  It  might  be  of  the  kind  that  could 
never  be  repaired — the  loss  of  a  hand  or  an  eye!" 

"Oh!  dear,  dear!  it's  too  horrible  to  think  of," 
exclaimed  Mrs.  Bearington,  nervously. 

"Perhaps  if  you  should  think  of  it,  you  would 
see  your  way  out,"  persisted  Ruth.  "There  are  so 
many  beautiful  things  made  for  children  now-a- 
days."  Then,  she  turned  to  the  boys  and  asked: 

"Can't  you  tell  me  of  anything  you  would  like 
better  than  those  evil  looking,  nasty  smelling, 
dangerous  fire  crackers  and  things?  Something 
that  you  could  keep  instead  of  burning  up?" 

The  three  older  boys  maintained  a  dubious 
silence  while  Teddy  the  youngest  cried  out:  "O 
mamma !  I'd  rather  have  a  bugle !  A  real  nice  big 
bugle!" 

"He  makes  me  think  of  little  Laurens,"  said 
Ruth  turning  to  Mrs.  Bearington  with  a  sob.  "He 
asked  mamma  'why  they  didn't  have  a  bugle  instead 
of  a  cannon  on  Schwarmer  Hill,'  the  very  morning 
before  he  was  killed." 

They  looked  at  each  other  for  a  moment  in 
sympathetic  silence.  Then  Mrs.  Bearington  turn- 
ed quite  bravely  to  the  boys. 

"See  here, boys,  mamma  is  going  to  ask  papa  not 

55 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

to  buy  you  any  more  fireworks.  Mamma  is  going 
to  hunt  the  city  over  next  year  and  find  you  some 
things  that  you  will  like  better — bugles !  tam- 
bourines !  trumpets !  bicycles !" 


56 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  FUNNY  FOURTH  RACKET  ON  ENGLISH  SOIL. 

UTH     hoped     that     her     talk,     painful 
though  it  had  been  to  herself,  would  have 
a  good  influence  with  the  Bearingtons. 
She  would  have  been  quickly  undeceived, 
had  she  heard  a  conversation  that  occurred  later 
on  when  Mr.  Bearington  came  in  from  his  "smoke 
walk,"  as  his  wife  called  it. 

"Papa,"  said  Mrs.  Bearington,  "I  wish  you 
hadn't  bought  the  fireworks !  Miss  Cornwallis  has 
just  been  telling  me  the  particulars  of  her  little 
brother's  terrible  death.  I  begin  to  be  awfully 
worried  for  fear  the  boys  will  hurt  themselves." 

"O  nonsense,  Tishy !  You  needn't  worry.  I  will 
attend  to  that  racket.  The  Cornwallis'  are  cranks 
on  the  subject,  you  may  set  that  down.  I  have 
heard  Cornwallis  talk.  He  thinks  because  his  little 
boy  got  killed  other  boys  should  be  denied  the 
privilege,"  laughed  Bearington. 

"Privilege,    papa!"    gasped    Mrs.    Bearington, 

57 


The  Independence   Day   Horror  "at  *Killsbury 

looking  at  him  in  a  way  as  helpless  and  childish 
as  her  style  of  addressing  him  warranted. 

"O,  you  never  can  take  a  good  round  joke, 
Tishy ;  but  you  can  stop  worrying  and  you  must. 
You  must  remember  that  I  paid  for  this  vacation 
and  I  am  bound  you  shall  not  take  it  out  in  wor- 
riment." 

"Perhaps  you  could  dispose  of  the  fireworks 
papa — then  I  could  not  worry  about  them." 

"No,  he  won't !"  shouted  Robbie  bristling  up. 
"He  bought  them  for  us  and  we  are  going  to  have 
them." 

"Down  there!  Young  America!"  said  Bearing- 
ton.  "And  you  Tishy!  You  forget  that  we  are 
on  English  soil.  There  isn't  any  demand  here  for 
Independence  Day  jubilators. 

"Nor  for  Fourth  of  July  celebrations  either, 
papa.  There's  Colonel  Jordan.  I  know  he 
wouldn't  call  for  one." 

"He  can't  help  himself  though.  That's  where 
the  fun  will  come  in.  I  reckon  we  will  teach  this 
English  boarding  house  that  if  they  have  us  and 
our  money,  they  will  have  to  take  us,  Fourth  of 
July  racket  and  all." 

"But  the  Cornwallis',  papa.  I  know  how  I  should 
feel  if  we  should  lose  one  of  our  boys  in  that  fear- 
ful way." 

"That  boy  didn't  know  how  to  handle  fireworks, 
you  bet,"  put  in  Robbie. 

"He  may  have  been  a  natural  born  idiot  for 

58 


The  Funny   Fourth   Racket  on   English   Soil 

anything  we  know,"  remarked  Bearington.  "He 
was  too  good  and  beautiful  to  live  anyway,  accor- 
ding to  their  account." 

"Papa,  how  bu'ful  do  I  have  to  be  to  be  too 
buful  to  live?"  asked  little  Teddy  coming  up  and 
laying  his  curly  head  lovingly  on  his  father's 
knee. 

"Like  a  lamb  for  the  slaughter,"  thought  his 
mother.  She  broke  out  afresh : 

"Powder  and  dynamite  are  always  more  or  less 
dangerous,  papa." 

"Never  you  mind,  Tishy.  They  are  safe 
enough  if  rightly  handled;  and  right  enough,  too, 
when  they  are  put  to  the  right  uses." 

"What's  the  use  of  powder  and  die-a-mite  ex- 
cept to  celebrate  the  Fourth  with,  papa?"  asked 
Joey. 

"Die-a-mite!  do  you  hear  that  Tishy?"  laughed 
Bearington.  "Well  sonny,  they  are  good  to  blast 
the  rocks  with  and  the  English  too  and  send 
them  flying  up  hill  and  down,  if  they  should  med- 
dle with  our  affairs  as  they  did  before  the  revo- 
lutionary war  and  have  tried  to  do,  two  or  three 
times  since." 

"Keeo!"  shouted  Robbie.  "Skippetty  hop! 
Hoppetty  skip!  Bow-wow!  Bow-wow!"  In  re- 
sponse to  his  call,  the  three  other  boys  joined  him 
and  they  went  "skippetty  hop"  into  the  back  yard 
to  worry  Colonel  Jordan's  English  terrier. 

Query.  Was  it  the  inward  cussedness  of  the  boy 

59 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

nature  that  led  them  on  to  this  species  of  brute 
torture,  or  was  it  their  father's  injudicious  talk? 

Mr.  Bearington  had  been  all  suavity  when  talk- 
ing with  Mrs.  and  Mr.  Cornwallis  about  the  com- 
ing celebration.  He  even  intimated  that  they 
might  go  over  to  a  neighboring  island  and  have 
their  little  picnic  all  by  themselves. 

"One  day  is  enough  for  my  boys,"  he  added.  "I 
make  them  do  all  their  celebrating  on  the  iden- 
tical day.  I  don't  believe  in  drizzling  along  in 
such  matters  more  than  in  others." 

Whereupon  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cornwallis  thanked 
him  heartily  and  rested  in  the  belief  that  he  would 
not  allow  his  boys  to  indulge  in  any  annoying 
demonstrations  on  their  daughter's  account,  even 
during  Independence  Day;  but  they  like  Ruth 
were  greatly  mistaken.  The  day  had  scarcely 
dawned  when  the  racket  began;  and  a  big  racket 
it  was  for  four  small  boys  to  make.  But  that  was 
not  all  of  it.  When  they  sat  down  to  breakfast 
they  found  a  firecracker  under  each  plate  and  the 
boys  were  not  in  evidence,  which  showed  that  more 
mischief  was  brewing. 

"The  good  for  naught  imps!"  exclaimed  the 
landlady  as  she  cleared  away  the  stuff ;  "they  have 
been  trying  to  be  funny  all  the  morning — throw- 
ing torpedoes  under  my  feet  and  snapping  fire- 
crackers in  my  face.  I  am  glad  I  don't  live  in  an 
independent  country  if  that's  the  independence  of 
it." 

60 


The  Funny   Fourth   Racket  on    English   Soil 

There  were  twenty  firecrackers,  one  for  each 
boarder.  She  put  them  into  the  cupboard  to  get 
them  out  of  the  way  and  thanked  her  stars  that 
she  had  been  able  to  do  so  before  the  rest  of  her 
boarders  came  in — especially  Colonel  Jordan  who 
inclined  to  be  violent  if  anything  went  amiss.  He 
had  cursed  her  roundly  once  upon  a  time,  because 
a  spider  had  invaded  his  napkin.  What  would  he 
have  said  had  he  found  that  insolent  reminder  of 
the  American  victory  over  the  English,  underneath 
his  plate? 

Colonel  Jordan  was  the  last  to  make  his  appear- 
ance. He  was  in  a  ferocious  mood,  but  he  soften- 
ed a  little  as  he  took  his  accustomed  seat  opposite 
Ruth. 

"A  beautiful  day  Miss  Cornwallis — that  is 
right  here,  but  I  perceive  they  are  having  a  right 
smart  thunder  shower  on  the  American  side.  A 
volcanic  or  patriotic  eruption  so  to  speak.  The 
killed  and  wounded  will  not  all  be  brought  in  before 
tomorrow,  possibly." 

Ruth  made  no  response.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Corn- 
wallis looked  anxious.  The  Colonel  felt  that  some- 
thing was  amiss. 

"Beg  pardon,  this  ridiculous  Independence  Day 
racket  has  cost  me  my  morning's  nap ;  but  I  ought 
not  to  be  in  a  rage  I  suppose.  I  fancy  you  have 
not  enjoyed  it  either,  Miss  Cornwallis,  although  it 
is  one  of  your  country's  choicest  exports." 

Ruth  began  to  show  signs  of  nervous  distress 

61 


The  Independence   Day    Horror  at  Killsbury 

and  Mr.  Cornwallis  hastened  to  explain  as  well  as 
place  and  time  permitted,  their  attitude  on  the 
subject  and  the  sad  experience  that  made  them  fug- 
itives from  home.  He  closed  with  a  significant 
look  at  Ruth,  which  would  have  been  sufficient  for 
a  more  impressionable  man — a  civilian  rather  than 
a  soldier.  Not  so,  however,  with  Colonel  Jordan. 
He  thought  it  was  the  mother's  health  that  had 
been  effected  by  the  loss  of  her  son,  as  very  natur- 
ally it  would  be.  There  was  nothing  in  that  which 
appealed  especially  to  his  sympathies.  Besides, 
his  sympathies  were  tough.  He  turned  to  Ruth  as 
though  he  had  discovered  a  good  joke. 

"Beg  pardon,  Miss  Cornwallis ;  but  it  would  ap- 
pear from  latest  advices  that  the  American  victory 
over  England  is  being  turned  into  a  most  ridicu- 
lous defeat.  If  the  Mother  Country  had  only 
known  her  wayward  children's  fondness  for  the  fire- 
cracker and  toy  pistol  all  that  she  would  have  need- 
ed to  have  done  when  they  turned  against  her, 
would  have  been  to  have  furnished  them  with  a  gen- 
erous supply  of  those  dastardly  things  and  they 
would  have  destroyed  themselves." 

"The  London  Pyrotechnist  is  shrewd  enough  to 
take  advantage  of  the  situation,"  laughed  Admiral 
Larkins.  "He  has  surrounded  the  country  with 
his  manufacturing  tents  and  is  said  to  have  sold 
$10,000,000  worth  of  Independence  Day  fireworks 
to  Americans  to  celebrate  their  victory  over  the 
English,  last  year — American  casualties  for  that 

62 


THE    FUXXY    FOURTH    RACKET   OX    ENGLISH    SOIL. 


The  Funny  Fourth  Racket  on    English  Soil 

day  footed  up  to  about  3,500  in  killed  and  wound- 
ed. It's  a  go6d  scheme  from  a  financial  point  of 
view. 

Another  Englishman  who  had  still  less  under- 
standing of  the  Cornwallis  matter,  but  was  aware 
of  the  annual  higeria  of  Americans  to  foreign 
lands  to  escape  the  noise  and  danger  of  their  na- 
tional day,  remarked:  "It's  a  providential  thing 
though  for  the  Americans  of  today  that  their  fore- 
bears did  not  push  their  victorious  hordes  up  to  the 
north  pole,  else  they  would  have  no  near-by  place  to 
fly  to,  while  their  own  country  is  being  made  too 
hot  for  them." 

How  long  this  conversation  would  have  contin- 
ued it  is  difficult  to  say  had  it  not  been  for  the  dis- 
tressful barking  of  Colonel  Jordon's  English  ter- 
rier, who  rushed  in  with  a  long  string  of  firecrack- 
ers tied  to  his  tail. 

His  first  dash  was  toward  Ruth,  probably  for 
the  reason  that  she  had  taken  his  part  one  day 
when  the  boys  were  tormenting  him.  He  would 
have  leaped  into  her  lap  had  she  not  warded  him 
off  with  the  vacant  chair  by  her  side.  He  leaped 
into  the  chair,  however,  then  across  the  table  to- 
ward Colonel  Jordon  and  down  on  the  floor  and  off 
to  the  lower  end  of  the  dining  room  where  the  land- 
lady was  cowering  in  mortal  terror,  as  well  she 
might ;  for  she  had  on  a  thin  muslin  dress  and  was 
completely  cornered.  By  that  time  the  firecrackers 
were  in  flame  and  the  result  was  inevitable.  They 

63 


The  Independence   Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

set  fire  to  the  poor  woman's  dress  and  pandemo- 
nium reigned.  The  boarders  rushed  to  the  rescue 
with  cups  of  tea  and  coffee,  pitchers  of  water  and 
milk,  rugs  and  top-coats.  She  was  finally  saved 
with  only  one  leg  burned;  Colonel  Jordon's  dog 
was  so  badly  hurt  that  he  had  to  be  shot  to  end 
his  misery.  Little  Teddy  Bearington  who  came  in 
unobserved  while  the  confusion  was  at  its  height 
and  was  trampled  down  by  hurrying  feet,  barely 
escaped  death  by  suffocation. 

But  the  Bearington  boys  had  enjoyed  their  cel- 
ebration. Mr.  Bearington  paid  the  bill  the  next 
day  and  the  whole  posse  beat  a  retreat  across  the 
Canadian  border.  They  showed  signs  of  disorgan- 
ization during  the  remainder  of  the  heated  season ; 
but  when  the  fall  political  campaign  came  on,  they 
were  in  high  feather  again — at  least  Mr.  Bearing- 
ton  and  the  three  older  boys.  Hardly  a  day  passed 
that  they  did  not  tell  how  they  had  celebrated  the 
Nation's  Glorious  Day  on  English  soil. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    DOUBLE    ENGAGEMENT. 

UTH  and  Ralph  were  alone  on  the  cosy 
little  veranda  of  the  Cornwallis  cottage. 
It  was  a  beautiful  evening  in  June — 
full  of  moonlight,  star-light  and  rose- 
fragrance  and  so  heavenly  still  that  they  could 
have  heard  the  beatings  of  each  other's  hearts; 
and  very  likely  they  did,  for  they  were  sitting  side 
by  side  in  lover-like  proximity.  There  was  an  in- 
definable but  easily  understood  something  about 
their  movements  and  attitude  that  said  as  plain- 
ly as  words  could  have  told  it:  "We  are  engaged 
and  are  going  to  be  married  before  many  a  day 
goes  by." 

"O,  these  perfect  June  evenings!"  exclaimed 
Ruth  in  a  voice  of  soft  rapture.  "But  how  swift- 
ly they  are  flying!  Only  think  of  it,  Ralph!  a 
week  from  next  Tuesday  will  be  the  Fourth  of 
July !  The  dreadful,  horrible  Fourth !  I  heard  the 
first  shot  today.  It  went  straight  through  my 
heart.  O,  the  fright  and  agony !  How  I  wish  it 

65 


The   Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

were  all  over  with  and  yet  I  dread  its  coming  as  I 
would  that  of  a  monstrous  bloodthirsty  army." 

"Where  shall  we  go  to  be  rid  of  it,  Ruth,  and 
celebrate  our  own  independence?  To  Star  Lake, 
Moon  Island  or  Canada? 

"Never  again  to  Canada,  Ralph !  I  haven't  told 
you  our  experience  there  last  year — that  is,  not 
all  of  it." 

"You  told  me  about  the  Bearington  boys  and 
the  fireworks  that  were  not  funny." 

"Yes, but  I  did  not  tell  you  the  talk  at  the  break- 
fast table  before  the  fracas  began.  Papa  begged 
me  not  to  talk  about  it,  but  I  feel  as  though  I  can 
tell  you  now,  and  will." 

"Of  course  you  can,  and  you  will  tell  me  every- 
thing," laughed  Ralph.  "We  are  all  one  now, 
that  makes  a  delightful  difference."  But  she  had 
no  sooner  told  him  of  Jordan's  joke  at  their  ex- 
pense than  he  exclaimed  angrily : 

"Ridiculous  defeat!  O  the  brute!  How  I  wish  I 
had  been  there  to  answer  him.  He  insulted  you 
and  the  country  at  the  same  time." 

"But  you  were  not  there,  Ralph,  and  I  don't 
know  but  I'm  glad  of  it;  for  there  is  something 
ridiculous  about  it.  Only  think  of  it,  Ralph! 
Fighting  for  freedom — and  then  deliberately  turn- 
ing the  day  that  commemorates  it  over  to  careless 
children  and  irresponsible  criminals,  and  flying 
away  from  it  as  though  a  legion  of  devils  were  let 
loose!  You  see,  Ralph,  it  hurt  me  more  to  think 

66 


The  Double  Engagement 

that  it  really  was  ridiculous,  than  because  Colonel 
Jordon  said  it  was ;  but  I  had  to  keep  it  to  myself." 

"You  could  have  talked  to  me,  if  I  had  been 
there,  to  your  heart's  content,  you  know  you  could, 
Ruth,  and  I  would  have  talked  to  the  insolent  Col- 
onel to  my  heart's  content.  He  must  have  had  the 
epidermis  of  a  rhinocerous  or  he  would  have  known 
better." 

"Papa  had  a  long  talk  with  him  after  the  Bear- 
ingtons  left.  I  don't  know  what  was  said,  but 
his  manner  changed  entirely  and  for  the  worse — 
that  is,  I  mean,  he  was  more  disagreeable  to  me 
than  before — in  a  way — " 

"I  understand,"  said  Ralph  in  a  passion.  "He 
pitied  you  and  made  love  to  you!  The  impudent 
rascal !" 

"Yes,  Ralph;  but  I  will  say  this  to  his  credit. 
He  had  the  good  sense  to  retreat  when  he  saw  that 
his  attentions  were  disagreeable." 

"Humph !"  said  Ralph. 

Ruth  knew  that  "humph"  was  a  sign  that  his 
jealous  wrath  was  effervescing  and  that  she  might 
continue  to  pour  out  the  feelings  which  had  been 
shut  away  from  him  for  three  distressful  years. 
She  had  a  whole  heart  full  of  them  now. 

"Do  you  know,  Ralph,  I  begin  to  think  there's 
no  use  of  going  away  any  more  to  get  rid  of  the 
horrible  Fourth.  It  goes  with  me  or  comes  to  me, 
wherever  I  go — this  terrible  monster  to  which  my 
little  brother  was  sacrificed.  Every  year  counts 

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The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

thousands  of  victims  and  every  year  more  and 
more !  O,  how  many  homes  will  be  made  desolate 
on  the  day  that  is  fast  coming!  How  many 
beautiful  and  precious  mothers'  sons  will  be  de- 
faced or  disfigured  for  life?  Between  three  and 
four  thousand  was  the  death  and  accident  roll  last 
year.  How  many  will  it  count  this  year  and  who 
and  how  many  of  our  little  circle  will  be  among 
the  hurt  or  slain? 

"The  Lord  only  knows,  Ruth;  but  I  mean  to 
know  something  about  the  why  and  wherefore  of 
the  increase  of  the  Independence  Day  death  roll 
in  this  town.  I  have  been  looking  it  up  and  it  is 
something  appalling." 

"O  Ralph !  Ralph !  let  us  stay  right  here  then 
and  see  if  we  can't  do  something  to  prevent  it — 
something  to  stay  this  cruel,  cruel  slaughter.  It 
seems  to  me  we  might  talk  to  the  boys  and  watch 
over  them  and  save  now  and  then  one  at  least." 

"You  are  right,  dear.  We  could  do  it  if  we 
could  go  to  work  hand  in  hand,  with  nobody  to 
hold  us  back.  It  would  be  better  and  braver  to  stay 
here  and  wrestle  with  the  monster  than  to  try  to 
hide  away  from  it ;  and  please  God  we  "will  do  it — 
after,  you  know  when.  We  can't  hope  to  accom- 
plish much  if  we  go  to  work  single-handed,  eh?  We 
will  be  doubly  armed  for  it  before  another  year 
comes  around." 

The  hand  that  lay  in  his  gave  a  quick  pressure 
in  response  and  he  went  on  manfully : 

68 


The  Double  Engagement 

"We  have  been  fools  and  blind  in  this  matter 
long  enough.  Something  is  going  to  be  done 
about  it  before  long.  I  have  talked  with  a  great 
many  with  regard  to  it  since  Lutie  had  his  fingers 
shot  off,  and  I  have  gathered  some  astonishing  sta- 
tistics— statistics  that  ought  to  set  us  to  thinking 
and  acting  too." 

"O  Ralph!  Ralph!  Tell  me  all  about  it!  Tell 
me  everything!  I  will  work  for  it  night  and  day. 
Bless  you,  Ralph.  O,  how  good  it  is  to  hear  you 
say  that  we  can  do  something  and  will." 

Ruth  was  fairly  wild  with  joy.  She  kissed  his 
hand  and  cheek  and  brow,  over  and  over  again 
with  a  fervor  that  was  new  to  him  and  very,  very 
delightful.  The  betrothal  kiss  was  nothing  in 
comparison.  Compliments  on  her  grace  and  beau- 
ty had  failed  to  call  forth  any  such  expressions  of 
love. 

"To  begin  with,"  he  said  at  last,  "I  have  found 
out  that  we  have  more  Independence  Day  accidents 
in  this  town  than  in  any  other  town  of  its  size  in 
the  state.  What  do  you  think  the  reason  is?" 

"O!  I  know,  Ralph.  It's  because  Millionaire 
Schwarmer  comes  every  Fourth  and  distributes  a 
carload  of  fireworks.  I  know  it  is ;  and  I  believe 
he  gave  Laurens  the  package  that  cost  him  his 
life,  though  he  tried  to  make  it  appear  that  he  did 
not.  How  does  he  know  who  he  gives  to  when  he 
is  distributing  his  death-dealers  right  and  left!" 
sobbed  Ruth. 

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The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

"He  doesn't  know,"  said  Ralph,  "and  he  doesn't 
care  or  think  about  it ;  but  he  ought  to  be  made  to 
think.  We  know  he  gave  Lutie  the  box  of  car- 
tridges that  tore  off  his  finger.  He  ought  to  have 
been  prosecuted  for  it  and  I  am  going  to  tell  him 
so  some  day.  I  am  not  afraid  of  his  millions.  The 
trouble  with  people  here  is  that  they  have  got  in 
the  habit  of  bowing  down  to  him  and  worshipping 
him — the  golden  calf!  and  being  a  calf  instead 
of  a  wise  man  he  fancies  that  he  owns  us  all — body 
and  soul — and  may  do  any  thing  he  chooses  with  us." 

"I  believe  it,  Ralph.  He  has  taken  it  into  his 
stupid  head  to  pat  my  shoulder  and  call  me  Miss 
Pretty  when  he  sees  me  of  late." 

Ralph  was  furious  again  and  threatened  dire 
things.  After  he  was  sufficiently  molified  Ruth 
continued  seriously :  "O  Ralph !  Ralph !  How  can  a 
man  of  mature  years — a  man  like  Mr.  Schwarmer 
— put  such  dangerous  things  into  a  boy's  hands? 
If  he  were  young  and  thoughtless  and  dazed  by 
custom ;  but  a  man  of  his  age  and  experience !  How 
is  it  that  this  Independence  Day  saturnalia  has 
been  let  to  grow  into  such  enormous  proportions? 
If  all  the  fiends  of  the  lower  regions  had  been  em- 
ployed to  make  a  plan  for  the  destruction  of  the 
youth  of  our  land,  they  could  not  have  done  worse. 
Only  think  of  it,  Ralph,  taking  powder  and  dyna- 
mite, the  most  dangerous  of  all  substances  and 
making  them  into  attractive  forms  for  children 
to  play  with — play  with  as  freely  as  though  they 

70 


The  Double  Engagement 

were  carts  or  doll  babies !  O !  O !  what  are  we  com- 
ing to?  What  idiocy — worse  than  idiocy — how 
Satanic !" 

"Yes,  Ruth,  and  it  does  seem  to  be  growing 
worse  and  worse  every  year — as  though  we  were 
sinking  down  to  the  level  of  the  brute.  As  though 
Satan  had  gotten  a  lease  of  a  thousand  years  and 
was  trying  to  see  how  many  children  he  can  de- 
stroy— yes,  and  young  men,  too ;  for  there  are  the 
deadly  games  for  the  finish.  Another  century  of 
such  brutal  sports  and  celebrations  and  there 
would  not  be  a  sound  man  left  in  the  community. 
We  would  be  as  hideous  as  the  brutal,  battle- 
scarred  Saracens.  But  I  cannot  think  we  shall 
have  another  century  of  it.  The  climax  will  come 
before  that  and  there  will  be  a  turn  in  the  right 
direction." 

"What  makes  you  think  so,  Ralph?  As  I  see  it 
we  shall  have  no  homes — sweet  homes  with  happy 
healthy  families.  We  shall  have  hospitals  instead 
— hospitals  and  hospitals,  full  of  the  crazed,  crip- 
pled, idiotic  and  beastly.  If  anything  can  be  done 
to  prevent  this  dire  calamity,  why  don't  we  begin 
at  once." 

There  was  silence  for  a  few  moments.  The  full 
moon  sent  its  searching  rays  through  the  veranda 
vines.  The  stars  twinkled  brightly  and  a  pair  of 
eyes  brighter  than  stars  were  looking  into  Ralph's 
face  appealingly. 

"Let  us  begin  now,  Ralph — this  very   Fourth 

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The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

and  see  if  we  can't  do  something  to  save  our  boys 
from  this  terrible  King  Schwarmer.  He's  a  worse 
king  for  us  than  old  King  Herod  was  for  Israel. 
Let's  dethrone  him." 

"We  will,"  said  Ralph  in  a  voice  of  quiet  de- 
termination. "You  have  given  me  an  inspiration. 
The  time  is  ripe  for  action.  Our  new  President  is 
a  Golden  Rule  man.  A  professed  follower  of  the 
original  Golden  Rule  Mayor.  He  comes  of  the 
same  good  old  Quaker  stock.  He  sings  the  same 
songs.  He  has  the  Golden  Rule  in  a  frame  of  sil- 
ver, ornamented  with  apples  of  gold,  hung  up  in 
his  office,  and  he  practices  that  rule  as  nearly  as 
any  man  can." 

"Let  us  go  and  see  him,  Ralph;  he  will  help  us 
if  he  believes  in  that  rule." 

"Yes,  Ruth,  and  if  we  can  manage  to  steer  our 
own  Fourth  of  July  craft  so  no  one  is  hurt  this 
year,  we  shall  have  done  something  that  will  make 
you  happier  than  you  have  ever  been  since  Lauren's 
death;  shall  we  not?" 

"Yes !    A  thousand  times,  yes,  Ralph." 

"One  thing  more,  Ruth — one  more  sacrifice  for 
the  cause.  Can  you  guess  what  it  is?" 

"Tell  me,  Ralph !    Tell  me  quickly." 

"We  must  be  married  before  that  frightful  In- 
dependence Day  monster  comes.  We  must  be  mar- 
ried at  once." 

"Go  ask  papa  and  mamma,  Ralph.  They  are 
in  the  west  room  with  Dr.  Muelenberg.  I  know 

72 


The  Double  Engagement 

what  they  are  talking  about  and  I  want  you  to 
promise  me  one  thing." 

"A  thousand  if  you  like,  Ruth." 

"No,  Ralph,  only  this  one.  Promise  me  that 
you  will  not  promise  them  to  take  me  abroad  for  a 
wedding  trip. 

"Remember,"  she  added,  as  she  turned  laugh- 
ingly away,  "if  you  do  I  will  break  the  engage- 
ment." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

DR.  MUELENBERG'S  PRESCRIPTION. 

S  RALPH  entered  the  west  room,   Mr. 
Cornwallis  was  saying: 
"You  see  how  it  stands,  Doctor.     We 
can't  afford  to  go  to  Europe;  and  Can- 
ada, the  poor  man's  abroad,  is  no  longer  effective." 

"Here's  Norwood,"  said  the  Doctor,  looking 
quizzically  at  the  young  man.  "There  was  a  time 
when  he  helped  us  out  splendidly  with  Miss  Ruth." 

"Yes,  indeed,"  said  Mrs.  Cornwallis,  "and  she 
has  always  felt  so  grateful  and  wanted  to  do  some- 
thing to  repay  you,  Ralph.  She  thinks  now  if  she 
had  been  here  instead  of  in  Canada  when  your  lit- 
tle brother  was  hurt,  she  might  have  entertained 
him  and  kept  him  out  of  Schwarmer's  way." 

"Bless  her  heart;  but  I  am  the  one  that  ought 
to  have  kept  him  out  of  the  way  of  that  superb 
idiot,"  said  Ralph  with  a  glow  of  feeling.  He  was 
thinking  that  Ruth's  objection  to  going  away 
might  be  grounded  in  a  desire  to  be  near  himself, 
although  he  was  aware  that  she  had  not  been  con- 

74 


Dr.   Muelenberg's  Prescription 

scious  of  it,  so  quick  had  it  been  to  expand  and 
reach  out  into  more  generous  motives. 

"Now  she  thinks  she  might  be  able  to  save  oth- 
ers by  getting  up  picnics  and  things  of  that  sort ;" 
said  Mr.  Cornwallis  shaking  his  head,  but  we  fear 
she  is  not  strong  enough  for  that  yet — that  it 
would  bring  on  the  old  terror  and  do  no  manner  of 
good.  She  doesn't  realize  what  it  would  be  to  fight 
against  such  a  custom — a  custom  that  was  inau- 
gurated when  our  New  World  began.  It  has 
grown  to  be  a  monstrous  evil,  but  like  many  an- 
other serpent  it  has  become  so  mixed  up  with  busi- 
ness interests  that  it  will  be  almost  impossible  to 
eliminate  it.  I  have  talked  with  more  than  one 
manufacturer,  feeling  there  was  no  other  way  to 
rid  ourselves  of  the  vile  Fourth  of  July  abomina- 
tions than  by  stopping  their  production  and  im- 
portation, but  they  will  not  give  in.  They  will  em- 
ploy noted  scientists  to  analyze  their  wares  with 
the  understanding  that  no  germs  of  tetanus  are  to 
be  found.  They  will  throw  dust  into  the  eyes  of 
the  governing  powers.  They  resent  fiercely  the 
least  intimation  that  they  are  responsible  for  the 
killing  or  maiming  of  three  or  four  thousand  boys 
per  year.  They  charge  it  to  parents  and  teachers. 
One  man  swore  at  me  when  I  approached  him  on 
the  subject  and  asked  if  I  didn't  know  that  there 
were  danger  traps  all  over  God's  world  and  that  a 
boy  should  not  be  let  to  plunge  into  the  river  until 
he  knew  how  to  swim.  You  see  how  it  stands,  Doc- 

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The  Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

tor — the  powers  of  light  against  the  powers  of 
darkness.  It's  a  thing  for  the  strong  hand  of  gov- 
ernment to  take  hold  of  instead  of  our  frail  little 
Ruth.  It  will  take  a  long  pull,  a  strong  pull  and 
a  pull  all  together  to  accomplish  anything  of  con- 
sequence. You  remember  the  efforts  made  last 
year.  They  began  with  the  Decoration  Day 
slaughter.  The  'Divine  alarm'  was  sent  all  over 
the  country  and  yet  the  list  of  the  dead  and  hurt 
was  beyond  all  precedent." 

"And  this  good  old  Quaker  state,"  replied  the 
Doctor,  "consecrated  by  the  good  old  saint,  Wil- 
liam Penn,  exceeds  all  others  in  Independence  Day 
accidents,  and  this  town  appears  to  be  the  storm 
center  of  the  whole.  The  gentle  'Friends'  he  left 
to  carry  on  his  work  must  be  asleep  and  the  fierce 
spirit  of  the  'Lord's  Committee  of  Colonies'  must 
be  awake  and  armed  with  the  explosives  which  he 
tabooed  with  such  good  effect.  The  cases  of  tetan- 
us I  had  here  last  year  nearly  drove  me  mad.  I 
wanted  to  throw  anti-toxin  to  the  winds  and  turn 
mayor  or  missionary  myself  and  take  this  beastly 
and  idiotic  custom  by  the  horns.  Call  it  patriot- 
ism! It's  bad  enough  to  bring  children  into  this 
dirty  world,  but  to  furnish  them  with  instruments 
to  introduce  the  worst  kind  of  dirt — the  baccili  of 
tetanus  into  their  sweet  young  flesh  is  deviltry  or 
insanity,  at  least.  It's  of  no  consequence  so  far 
as  results  go  whether  the  wads  in  the  blank  car- 
tridge are  boiled  or  not.  It  is  a  fiend  incarnate. 

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Dr.   Muelenberg's  Prescription 

No  instrument  could  be  more  cunningly  devised  for 
the  injection  of  poison  into  the  human  system. 
The  flat  head  is  like  the  head  of  a  serpent.  The 
small  boy  gives  it  a  starter.  It  hisses  and  carries 
everything  before  it — pieces  of  flesh  or  clothing, 
soiled  or  unsoiled,  but  usually  soiled.  It 
buries  and  burns  them  deep  in  the  flesh. 
The  gash  shuts  up  and  they  are  left  to 
fester  there.  Mien  Gott!  These  are  the  things 
that  are  invented,  manufactured  and  sold  for  in- 
nocent boys  to  play  the  deadly  game  of  patriotism 
with.  They  are  good  for  no  other  thing — they 
nor  the  toy  pistol;  and  the  wretch  who  invented 
them  ought  to  be  put  into  a  house  of  correction 
and  be  kept  there  and  preached  to  until  he  learns 
to  set  his  wits  at  better  things.  The  people  ought 
to  see  to  these  matters.  There  are  laws  and  laws 
shut  up  in  your  statute  books.  They  want  the 
spirit  of  flame  put  into  them  and  the  spirit  of 
enforcement  back  of  them." 

"I  was  advised  when  I  first  came  to  this  coun- 
try, to  take  lessons  in  American  patriotism.  Mien 
Gott !  The  lesson  I  have  learned  is  that  missionaries 
are  needed  in  all  the  fields  around  about.  I  should 
say  let  Miss  Ruth  turn  missionary — that  is,  if  she 
has  no  longer  a  fear  of  that  dreadful  work." 

"Her  fear  of  going  away  seems  to  be  greater 
than  the  fear  of  the  Fourth  itself,"  said  Mrs. 
Cornwallis.  "That's  the  perplexing  thing  about 
it.  That's  why  we  doubt  the  expediency  of  going 

77 


The   Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

at  all.  Whether  the  evil  we  fly  to  is  greater  than 
the  evil  we  fly  from,  is  the  question.  She  is  all  we 
have  left  and  we  have  been  so  very,  very  careful — 
afraid  to  mention  the  subject  almost." 

"I  have  been  expecting  this  puzzle  in  Miss 
Ruth's  case  and  I  incline  to  take  it  as  a  healing 
sign,"  said  Dr.  Muelenberg  looking  keenly  at 
Ralph.  "To  engage  in  the  work  of  stamping  out 
this  monstrous  horror  would  be  far  better  than 
ominous  silence  and  the  annual  flight  from  it,  for 
you,  for  her,  for  the  people  of  the  town  and  for 
the  world,  no  doubt!  But  it  will  not  do  for  Miss 
Ruth  to  go  out  alone.  She  must  have  some  one 
with  her,  in  heart  and  hand." 

"Here  am  I,"  exclaimed  Ralph,  rising  to  the 
occasion  and  making  his  errand  known.  Mrs. 
Cornwallis  was  affected  to  tears  when  he  promised 
to  try  to  be  a  good  son.  She  was  thinking  of  her 
beautiful  boy.  Mr.  Cornwallis  gave  a  dignified 
consent  and  Dr.  Muelenberg  grasped  his  hand 
vigorously,  saying: 

"O !  I  suspected  you,  young  man !  I  suspected 
you  and  I  am  glad  my  suspicions  have  proven  true. 
I  believe  it  will  be  for  the  betterment  of  all  con- 
cerned." 

And  so  it  happened  that  Ruth's  engagement 
proved  to  be  a  relief  in  more  ways  than  one.  It 
was  a  relief  to  herself  because  she  could  talk  freely 
to  Ralph.  She  could  let  her  enthusiasm  have  full 
rein  on  this  subject  without  arousing  his  fears  for 

78 


Dr.   Muelenberg's  Prescription 

her  sanity  of  mind.  Any  nervous  symptoms  that 
she  might  betray  in  so  doing  would  not  cause  him 
the  undue  fright  and  solicitude  that  they  did  her 
father  and  mother.  He  would  know  that  they 
meant  she  must  be  doing  something  for  the  cause 
so  near  her  heart.  It  was  certainly  a  relief  to  her 
father  and  mother,  who  had  begun  to  admit  at 
least  to  themselves  (especially  after  Ruth's  disaf- 
fection for  Canada)  that  the  annual  going  away 
from  home  was  taking  the  form  of  a  cruel  necessity. 
Yes,  and  it  continued  to  be  a  relief  in  spite  of  the 
little  flurry  into  which  they  were  thrown  a  few 
evenings  later  on  when  Ruth  and  Ralph  appeared 
before  them  hand  in  hand  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Nor- 
mander  smiling  benignly  in  the  background.  They 
knew  what  it  meant,  although  there  were  no  wed- 
ding garments  and  the  wedding  feast  was  not  pre- 
pared. Ruth  pleaded  that  there  was  important 
work  to  be  done.  Ralph  declared  that  he  was  "fol- 
lowing Doctor  Muelenberg's  prescription  in  not 
allowing  her  to  go  forth  single-handed." 

It  was  enough.  The  two  hands  were  joined  then 
and  there  and  before  another  morning  dawned  the 
bride  and  bridegroom  had  planned  their  Indepen- 
dence Day  campaign. 


79 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE    BRIDAL   TRIP. 

ITH  a  roll  of  statistics  in  hand  and  Ruth 
on  his  arm  Ralph  proceeded  to  the  Gold- 
en  Rule  President's  office  the  next  morn- 
ing after  the  marriage. 

As  they  entered  the  hall  they  heard  some  one 
singing  in  a  deep,  melodious  voice. 

"That's  the  President,"  whispered  Ralph,  crush- 
ing Ruth's  arm  to  his  side.  "It's  his  morning  ma- 
tin. I  think  he  composes  it  as  he  goes  along. 
Sometimes  he  sings  the  Golden  Rule  mayor's  songs. 

"Did  you  ever  hear  anything  so  quaint  and 
touching,  Ralph?" 

"Never,  Ruth,  outside  of  'Frawds'  Meeting,' 
where  I  used  to  go  with  Grandma  when  I  was  a  kid. 
They  sang  their  sermons  and  sometimes  they  were 
very  touching." 

"O,  listen !'    He's  singing  plainer  now,  Ralph !" 

"As  long  as  you  please,  dear,"  said  Ralph.  The 
rascal  was  only  too  glad  to  listen,  with  Ruth's  pret- 
ty head  leaning  against  his  shoulder  and  her  fair 

80 


The   Bridal  Trip 

cheek  within  kissing  distance,  while  the  following 
words  came  rolling  forth  in  a  heartful  voice: 

"Co-workers  with  God !    What  a  mission  for  men.. 

"What  a  promise !     What  glory  awaits  us  then, 

"When  once  we  awake  and  our  destiny  see! 

"The  angels  I'm  sure  might  envious  he. 

"All  hail  to  God's  workers !     Our  race  they  will  save 

"From  the  foul  name  of  'master,'  or  'idler'  or  'slave.' " 

"O,  I  like  that,  Ralph,"  whispered  Ruth,  after 
the  singing  had  ceased.  "It  sounds  so  hearty  and 
helpful — better  than  cathedral  music  for  poor  mor- 
tals like  ourselves.  I  know  he  will  help  us.  Let  us 
go  in  now." 

Ralph  was  in  no  hurry;  but  Ruth  pressed  him 
eagerly  forward.  She  would  not  wait  even  for  the 
proffered  kiss.  She  rapped  at  the  door. 

"No  need  of  ceremony  here,"  laughed  Ralph. 
He  opened  the  door  and  they  walked  in. 

The  President  was  at  his  desk  swinging  his  pen 
as  vigorously  as  he  had  been  using  his  voice  a  mo- 
ment before.  He  did  not  stop  until  he  came  to  a 
period.  Then  he  arose  quickly  and  extended  both 
hands. 

"Glad  to  see  you,  Norwood,  and  twice  glad  to 
see—" 

"My  wife,"  stammered  Ralph — the  words  were 
new  to  him  and  the  sound  was  new  to  Ruth.  They 
both  blushed  and  the  President  asked  as  he  shook 
a  hand  of  each: 

"How  long  since,  Norwood?    I  didn't  know  you 

81 


The  Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

were  married.  It  must  be  newly.  I  see  you  haven't 
gotten  used  to  saying  'my  wife?'  ' 

"Only  since  last  evening,"  replied  Ralph. 

"And  you  brought  her  to  see  me  early  this  morn- 
ing," said  the  President,  slapping  his  shoulder 
while  he  retained  Ruth's  little  hand  in  his  powerful 
grasp.  'Bless  you !  You  are  a  good  fellow,  Nor- 
wood. You  are  giving  me  a  rare  treat.  It's  sel- 
dom a  man  brings  his  wife  to  call  on  me  and  never 
a  newly-wedded  one.  I  like  the  idea,  though.  It 
shows  you  are  thinking  of  others'  pleasure  as  well 
as  your  own.  That's  the  right  kind  of  love  to  have 
even  in  the  beginning." 

"She  chose  it  for  her  wedding  trip,"  laughed 
Ralph  confusedly.  Then  he  recovered  himself  and 
added  seriously :  "She  was  very  anxious  to  see  you 
and  speak  with  you,  and  she  would  not  wait  a  mo- 
ment longer." 

"Come  and  sit  down,"  said  the  President.  "We 
will  talk.  We  will  reason  together  if  need  be." 

After  they  were  seated  Ruth  took  a  little  minia- 
ture from  her  pocket  and  handed  it  to  him. 

"Please  look  at  the  picture  so  you  will  under- 
stand exactly  how  I  feel  and  why  I  appeal  to  you, 
said  Ruth. 

"That's  right!  just  right!  People  don't  half 
understand  each  other.  That's  the  reason  why 
they  often  seem  so  hard  and  unsympathetic."  Then 
he  put  on  his  glasses  and  looked  at  the  picture. 

"What  a  beautiful  face!     How  spiritual!     It 

82 


GOING    TO    VISIT    THE    PRESIDENT. 


The   Bridal  Trip 

almost  seems  as  though  I  had  seen  one  that  looked 
a  little  like  it."  He  gave  her  a  keen  glance. 

She  shook  her  head.  "You  never  saw  him  surely 
— my  beautiful  little  brother  Laurens  Cornwallis. 
He  died  seven  years  ago  this  Fourth  of  July — Papa 
and  Ralph  and  Dr.  Muelenberg  found  him  lying 
alone  in  the  woods  on  the  river  bank,  all  torn  and 
mangled  with  fireworks.  It  was  a  dreadful  sight 
and  an  awful  mystery!  but  probably  you  never 
heard  of  it." 

"I  was  abroad  then  but  it  strikes  me  that  I  read 
of  some  such  accident.  Probably  an  outline  of  it 
and  that  there  was  something  wrong  about  it; 
but  I  want  to  hear  more.  I  want  to  hear  all  about 
the  wrong  things  that  have  been,  or  are  being 
done  in  this  town.  My  belief  is  that  private 
wrongs  are  too  often  hushed  up.  They  ought  to 
be  talked  about  in  the  open,  as  a  rule,  and  even 
where  they  are  of  a  private  nature  they  should 
be  talked  of  in  the  right  way  and  to  the  right  per- 
sons." 

Thus  encouraged,  Ruth  told  more  fully  than 
she  had  ever  done  before,  the  effect  of  her  broth- 
er's death  on  herself — of  the  visions  she  had  when 
the  brain  fever  was  at  its  height — of  the  colossal 
shadow  of  Millionaire  Schwarmer  looming  into  the 
sky  scattering  implements  of  death  and  destruc- 
tion everywhere — of  the  white-winged  figure  of  her 
brother  flying  along  with  the  upward  look,  toward 
a  pit  of  writhing,  fiery,  serpents — how  she  fancied 

83 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

that  she  ran  after  him  and  really  did  call  and  call 
for  him  to  come  back;  and  how  Ralph  came  in- 
stead and  made  her  think  he  was  Laurens  and  the 
delusion  saved  her. 

"And  so  you  have  married  your  delusion.  Bless 
your  heart,  you  have  done  just  right,"  laughed 
the  President,  but  there  was  a  suspicion  of  tears 
in  his  eyes  and  Ruth  went  on : 

"I  was  only  eleven  years  old  then.  My  brain 
was  saved,  but  I  was  a  physical  wreck.  Year  af- 
ter year  for  seven  years  papa  and  mamma  took  me 
to  Canada  to  save  me  from  the  horror  of  our  Na- 
tional Day!  Only  think  of  that.  Flying  away 
from  it  and  trying  to  hide  my  fears  of  it.  You 
are  right  about  'speaking  out.'  I  think  now  if  I 
had  been  encouraged  to  speak  of  it  freely  and  do 
something  to  remedy  it,  I  need  not  to  have  gone 
away,  at  least,  so  many  times;  but  poor  mamma 
and  papa!  They  were  so  broken  down  they  could- 
n't bear  to  talk  about  it — papa  especially;  but  I 
know  now  that  it  would  have  been  better  for  him 
if  he  had.  His  hair  was  a  beautiful  brown  when 
little  Laurens  died,  but  now  it's  as  white  as  snow! 
And  there  are  others  that  ought  to  speak  out 
plainly.  There  have  been  a  great  many  accidents 
here  since  Mr.  Schwarmer's  advent.  None  of 
them  have  been  quite  so  bad  and  mysterious  as  my 
little  brother's,  but  they  have  been  too  bad  to  pass 
by  and  have  been  increasing  every  year.  Ralph 
will  show  you  that  it  is  so." 

84 


The  Bridal  Trip 

After  the  statistics  were  read  and  commented 
upon,  Ruth  broke  out:  "It's  coming  again.  It's 
almost  here.  We  know  dreadful  things  will  hap- 
pen if  we  don't  watch  and  watch  and  do  everything 
we  can  to  prevent  them  and  stir  everybody  up  to 
do  the  same.  You  can  help  us,  I  know  you  can." 

"Bless  your  heart!  That's  just  what  I'm  here 
for,  to  help  everybody.  I  can  help  you  stir  up  the 
people.  I  will  call  a  mass  meeting  for  this  very 
evening,  and  you  and  your  delusion  will  be  there 
in  the  front  row — and  the  curtains  will  all  be  torn 
away  from  this  beastly  Fourth  of  July  business. 
He  will  read  the  figures  and  you  will  tell  your 
story  and  encourage  every  hurt  soul  to  do  like- 
wise. This  is  what  I  believe  in.  What  I  don't  be- 
lieve in,  is  forcing  people  to  do  things.  But  I  do 
believe  in  warming  them  up  to  do  right  things.  I 
don't  believe  in  masterings,  bossings,  tie-ups  or 
hold-ups ;  but  I  do  believe  in  explainings,  urgings 
and  entreatings." 

"The  Rev.  Dr.  Normander  tried  the  gentler 
method  with  Schwarmer  at  the  time  of  Lauren's 
death,"  said  Ralph,  "and  he  declared  that  Inde- 
pendence Day  was  a  sacred  day  and  that  he  had 
as  good  a  right  to  distribute  free  fireworks  on  that 
day  as  a  minister  had  to  distribute  free  religious 
tracts  on  the  Lord's  Day,  or  words  to  that  effect." 

"O  the  idiot!"  exclaimed  the  President.  "I 
would  not  punch  his  head  and  make  more  of  an 
idiot  of  him ;  but  if  I  could  get  my  eye  on  his  free 

85 


The   Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

fireworks  I  would  destroy  them  as  I  would  a  nest 
of  rattlesnakes.  I  would  let  him  see  that  I  know 
the  difference  between  good  and  evil — between  God 
and  the  devil,  by  an  illustrative  example." 


86 


CHAPTER  X. 

A   PUBLIC    MEETING STATISTICS   AND    RESOLUTIONS. 

ARLY  in  the  afternoon  there  was  a  big 
poster  on  the  Town  Hall,  with  a  procla- 
mation, or  rather,  invitation  from  the 
President,  asking  "the  citizens  one  and 
all,  without  distinction  of  sex,  race  or  color  to  as- 
semble together  in  order  to  discuss  plans  for  the 
saving  of  life,  limb  and  property  during  the  forth- 
coming celebration  of  the  Nation's  birthday." 

They   came — old  men   and  young  men,  women 
and  girls.     The  hall  was  packed  with  an  expectant 
crowd.      The   President    opened    the   meeting   by 
saying : 
"Dear  Friends  and  Townsmen: 

"I  did  not  invite  you  here  to  listen  to  a  speech. 
I  don't  believe  in  cornerings  of  any  kind  and 
surely  not  in  cornering  anybody  and  talking  him 
to  death.  I  invited  you  expecting  you  would  talk 
to  me  and  each  other.  I  am  a  new  man  in  civic 
affairs ;  but  I  don't  want  to  stay  new.  I  want  to 

87 


The   Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

get  at  the  heart  of  the  interests  of  this  town.  I 
did  not  come  among  you  to  make  millions.  Like 
my  brother  mayor  over  in  Ohio,  I  should  not  know 
what  to  do  with  a  million  of  money ;  but  unlike 
him  I  am  not  afraid  I  shall  ever  be  a  millionaire 
(applause).  But  I  begin  to  fear  that  I  have  neg- 
lected my  civic  duties.  You  know  I  was  averse 
to  having  the  yoke  of  office  put  upon  me.  Now  I 
thank  you  for  your  kindly  insistance.  I  have  had 
proof  this  very  day  that  the  yoke  is  good  for  me 
and  may  prove  to  be  good  for  the  people  of  the 
town  also  (cries  of  'why'  and  'how'). 

"Before  I  tell  you  why  or  how  I  want  to  give 
thanks  right  here  before  you  all  to  one  who  is  not 
here — one  who  has  crossed  over — my  dear  Quaker 
mother,  who  taught  me  the  Golden  Rule  and  how 
to  apply  it.  I  loved  that  rule,  but  I  hesitated  about 
putting  it  up  in  the  office,  just  as  my  brother  may- 
or hesitated  about  putting  it  up  in  his  manufac- 
turing establishment.  I  had  very  much  the  same 
feeling  about  it,  but  I  conquered  it,  thank  God! 
It  resulted  in  this  meeting  (cries  of  'hear!'  'hear!') 

"Yes,  you  shall  hear.  I  don't  believe  in  keep- 
ing matters  of  this  kind  veiled.  Early  this  morn- 
ing a  young  woman  came  to  my  office.  She  brought 
no  axe  to  grind  but  she  brought  what  was  infinite- 
ly better,  a  heart  full  of  love  and  solicitude  for 
the  youth  of  this  town.  Years  ago  her  little  broth- 
er had  fallen  a  victim  to  a  terrible  and  mysterious 
Fourth  of  July  accident,  and  she  wanted  to  do 

88 


A  Public  Meeting 

something  to  save  others  from  a  like  fate.  She 
thought  that  if  I  believed  in  the  Golden  Rule  I 
would  help.  God  bless  her."  (Cries  of  "God  bless 
her!"  "God  bless  her!") 

The  President  wiped  his  eyes  and  continued: 
"Yes,  God  bless  her !  She  brought  no  axe  to  grind 
but  she  brought  her  husband  with  statistics  to 
prove  that  this  town  has  more  Independence  Day 
accidents  than  any  town  of  its  size  in  the  state. 
(Cries  of  "shame  on  the  town.") 

"Yes,  shame  on  the  town  and  every  individual 
of  the  town — especially  those  who  profess  to  rep- 
resent it.  I  am  ashamed  of  myself — mortally 
ashamed  that  I  have  let  such  a  monster  grow  and 
fatten  right  under  my  nose,  without  doing  a  thing 
to  prevent  it.  I  don't  know  how  the  rest  of  you 
will  feel  about  it,  but  I  feel  that  I  have  very  little 
excuse  for  my  stupidity  in  this  regard;  for  the 
same  mother  that  taught  me  the  Golden  Rule  also 
taught  me  that  war  and  its  instruments  and  all  its 
vain-glorious  celebrations  such  as  our  Indepen- 
dence Day  has  grown  to  be,  are  wrong  and  that 
we  should  lose  no  opportunity  of  speaking  and 
acting  against  them. 

"She  taught  me  all  that  and  I  accepted  it  or 
thought  I  did.  I  proclaimed  myself  to  be  a  man 
of  peace,  an  enemy  to  cannons,  battle-ships, 
swords,  guns,  pistols  and  all  the  implements  made 
for  the  killing  of  men ;  while  I  have  had  nothing 
to  say  against  the  little  murderous,  viperous  im- 

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The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

plements  that  are  put  into  the  hands  of  innocent 
and  ignorant  boys."  (Cries  of  "hear!"  "We  are 
all  in  the  same  boat!") 

"Then  let  us  get  out  of  the  boat  and  go  to 
work  in  earnest  to  destroy  the  evil,  root  and 
branch.  There  is  nothing  more  sure  than  that  this 
Fourth  of  July  slaughter  is  a  branch  of  war — a 
terribly  crooked  branch  and  a  poison  one — one 
that  can  be  easily  made  to  grow  into  another 
deadly  Upas  tree.  We  have  all  heard  of  that  ex- 
asperating old  Upas  the  very  fibre  of  which  if 
woven  into  a  garment  produces  a  constant  itch- 
ing to  the  wearer.  The  same  thing  happens  to 
the  small  boy  who  indulges  in  Independence  Day 
customs  too  freely.  He  gets  an  itching  for  war  and 
brutal  sports.  Ralph  Norwood  will  now  give  you 
the  statistics  of  our  annual  Independence  Day 
slaughter  for  the  last  ten  years,  which  will  show 
you,  I  trust,  into  what  a  fatal  fetichism  we  are 
rapidly  descending." 

Ralph  came  forward  with  an  immense  roll  which 
he  accidentally  let  slip.  As  it  trailed  on  the  stage 
there  were  whispers  of  excitement  from  all  parts  of 
the  house,  such  as  "See."  "See."  One  rough  fel- 
low blurted  out: 

"That's  all  right,  Norwood,  let's  have  it  sled 
length." 

The  first  accident  on  his  record  was  at  the  lay- 
ing of  the  Corner  Stone  of  the  Schwarmer  man- 
sion. He  explained  that  he  had  begun  there  be- 

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A  Public  Meeting 

cause  the  disasters  that  had  occurred  previous  to 
that  date  had  not  been  noticeably  large.  On  that 
eventful  day  Mr.  Schwarmer  had  come  from  the 
city  and  brought  a  carload  of  fireworks,  cannon 
included.  His  hostler  was  killed  while  firing  off 
the  cannon.  There  were  several  minor  accidents 
the  same  day.  But  little  account  was  made  of 
them  in  face  of  the  greater  accident.  I  believe 
one  of  the  boys  who  had  his  fingers  shot  off  is  in 
the  hall  now.  If  so  will  he  kindly  raise  up  his 
maimed  hand  in  proof  of  the  statement?" 

The  hand  was  raised  and  sighs  of  pity  were 
heard  from  various  parts  of  the  house. 

"The  next  year  the  worst  accident  was  caused 
by  a  boy  who  threw  a  bunch  of  firecrackers  at  a 
horse.  It  ran  away  throwing  out  a  mother  and 
child.  The  child  was  killed  and  the  mother's  back 
almost  broken.  She  lingered  until  the  next  Fourth 
and  died  in  a  paroxysm  of  fear,  piteously  begging 
to  have  the  terrible  fireworks  stopped.  I  see  that 
Dr.  Muelenberg  is  here.  We  would  like  to  hear 
his  testimony." 

The  doctor  arose  promptly  and  confirmed 
Ralph's  statement.  He  also  said  "that  in  his  opin- 
ion there  should  be  no  temporizing  with  this  mat- 
ter. Everybody  knew  that  explosives  were  dan- 
gerous, especially  those  that  were  gotten  up  on 
purpose  to  explode  and  that  they  should  never  be 
put  into  the  hands  of  the  young  or  ignorant  or 
evil  disposed."  He  added  sarcastically: 

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The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

"There  is  no  need  of  appointing  a  lumbering 
committee  to  go  around  the  world  and  investigate 
the  injurious  effect  of  powder  and  dynamite  on 
the  human  system.  It  is  well  known  that  a  very 
small  quantity  of  either  is  sufficient  to  put  a  boy's 
eye  out,  tear  off  his  fingers  or  produce  one  of  the 
most  horrible  diseases,  lockjaw — a  disease  which 
boasted  antitoxin  fails  to  cure  in  nine  cases  out 
of  ten.  I  don't  see  how  any  man  in  his  right 
senses  would  dare  to  put  such  explosives  into  a 
young  boy's  hands.  Surely  such  a  man  must  be 
afflicted  with  what  the  Germans  call  'Precocious 
Imbecility.'  Permitting  boys  to  kill  themselves  and 
each  other  is  almost  worse  than  they  do  in  Ger- 
many. Boys  there  are  carefully  protected  until 
they  are  old  enough  to  serve  some  purpose  or  to 
be  killed  in  the  service  of  the  King,  while  the 
American  small  boy  has  almost  no  protection  and 
does  not  seem  to  be  reared  for  any  purpose  unless 
it  is  to  be  killed  in  the  service  of  the  King  of  Com- 
merce. I  speak  advisedly  for  I  perceive  that  he 
is  already  being  caught  in  the  net-work  of  at 
least  two  great  business  interests — those  of  Pyro- 
technics and  Antitoxin,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
lesser  interests  of  hospital  nurses  and  doctors. 
What  will  come  next  to  entangle  him  and  hold 
him  there  it  were  vain  to  forecast.  As  to  the  doc- 
tors I  am  one  of  them,  and  ought  to  know  what  I 
am  talking  about.  I  know  it's  money  in  my  pocket 
to  have  the  beastly  thing  go  on;  but  I  hope  you 

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A  Public   Meeting 

will  believe  me  when  I  say  that  I  don't  want  it  to 
go  on."     (Cries  of  "Yes !"  "Yes.") 

"I  came  to  this  country  straight  from  the  Ger- 
man University,  with  high  hopes,  but  I  have  had 
to  let  them  down  fully  half  way.  Not  quite  down 
to  the  lethargic  German  level  but  lower  down  than 
I  could  possibly  have  imagined:  for  what  do  I  see, 
in  this  new-born  land?  A  nation  of  freemen,  court- 
ing self-destruction!  Arming  their  ignorant 
young  boys  and  hardened  criminals  against  them- 
selves !  What  do  I  see  the  next  day  and  the  next 
after  the  glorious  Independence  Day  of  which  I 
heard  so  much  in  my  own  country?  I  see  the  dead, 
the  mutilated,  the  dying,  the  weeping  mothers  and 
trembling  sisters!  I  landed  in  New  York  the  last 
days  of  beautiful  June  eager  to  grasp  my  brother 
practitioners  by  the  hand  and  help  them  to  make 
this  people  as  strong  and  healthy  as  they  were 
prosperous  and  free.  But  what  did  I  hear  in  this 
free  land?  A  voice  from  the  high  seat  of  a  great 
City  Government  saying:  'Prepare  the  way!  Pre- 
pare the  way!  (Not  for  the  "Prince  of  Light") 
but  for  the  prince  of  darkness,  death,  din  and  dis- 
order! Stand  by  with  lint,  bandages  and  anti- 
toxin !  Have  an  ambulance  within  call ;  for  the 
prince  that  rules  this  day  is  sure  to  leave  hosts  of 
wounded  and  dying  in  his  track.'  When  I  stood 
still  and  asked  why  they  allowed  this  thing  to  be, 
they  looked  fierce  at  me  and  warned  me  to  take 
lessons  in  American  patriotism.  Certainly  lpre- 

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The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

cocious  imbecility'  must  be  at  the  bottom  of  this 
whole  business. 

Dr.  Muelenberg  sat  down  amidst  a  storm  of  ap- 
plause and  Ralph  continued: 

"The  next  year  a  terrible  accident  occurred  and 
a  very  mysterious  one.  A  beautiful  boy  of  eight 
years  was  brought  home  with  his  clothes  burned 
off  and  his  face  scarred  and  torn  beyond  recogni- 
tion. Nobody  ever  knew  to  a  certainty  where  he 
got  the  supply  of  fireworks  which  caused  his  death. 
His  parents  certainly  did  not  give  them  to  him. 
The  father  is  in  the  house  now  and  will  no  doubt 
tell  you  so  if  you  should  desire  to  know." 

Cries  of  "yes,  yes,  yes,  let  the  father  speak!" 
were  heard  on  all  sides. 

Mr.  Cornwallis  turned  pale  and  hesitated. 

"O !  do  speak  father,"  whispered  Ruth,  who  was 
sitting  by  his  side  in  the  front  row.  "If  you  don't 
/  must,  but  I  had  rather  you  would  speak.  I  know 
it  would  do  you  good.  Tell  them  just  how  you 
feel  about  it.  You  may  be  the  means  of  saving 
some  other  boy's  life." 

Ralph  waited  serenely.  He  knew  well  enough 
what  Ruth  was  saying,  although  he  could  not  hear 
her;  for  they  had  talked  the  matter  over  and  she 
had  promised  to  be  as  near  as  possible,  to  spirit 
him  on  and  urge  her  father  to  speak  instead  of 
speaking  herself. 

He  was  so  elated  with  the  consciousness  of  the 
one  presence  that  he  hardly  realized  that  her  fath- 

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A  Public   Meeting 

er  was  on  his  feet  until  his  agonized  voice  rang 
out: 

"Yes,  it  is  as  Mr.  Norwood  has  said.  My  boy 
was  brought  home  unrecognizable  beyond  any 
words  of  mine  to  describe — as  though  all  the 
agencies  of  hell  had  been  employed  to  hurt  and  dis- 
figure his  little  body.  His  once  fair  face  was  so 
gored  with  powder  and  blotched  with  colored  fires, 
that  not  a  vestige  of  likeness  remained." 

Mr.  Cornwallis  paused  and  closed  his  eyes.  The 
room  was  deathly  still —  as  still  as  though  the 
audience  had  been  actually  looking  at  little  Lau- 
rens'  mutilated  face.  His  wife  clasped  his  hand 
and  Ruth  whispered:  "Have  courage,  Father! 
Have  courage!" 

Then  he  went  on  more  calmly  than  before : 

"We  never  knew  where  he  got  the  fireworks. 
They  must  have  been  given  to  him;  nor  does  it 
seem  possible  that  one  person  could  have  given  him 
all  that  he  appeared  to  have  had.  Mr.  Schwarmer 
distributed  fireworks  very  freely  that  day  but  he 
insisted  that  he  did  not  give  any  to  Laurens  and 
not  enough  to  any  one  boy  to  injure  himself  with. 
My  idea  is  that  some  one  who  was  assisting 
Schwarmer  in  his  distributions,  must  have  given 
him  some  of  the  colored  pieces  intended  for  evening 
display;  and  that  he  was  seized  upon,  or  induced 
by  other  boys  to  go  into  the  woods  and  stack  them 
together,  in  order  to  have  a  big  explosion,  and  that 
he  was  the  victim  of  that  explosion.  Facts  and  cir- 

95 


The  Independence   Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

cumstances  have  since  come  to  light  which  have 
confirmed  this  belief.  Schwarmer  brought  a  lad 
with  him  from  the  city  to  help  him  celebrate.  There 
were  a  great  many  strange  boys  in  town.  They 
came  from  the  surrounding  country,  walking  in  on 
the  railroad  tracks  or  rowed  down  the  river  in  rick- 
ety boats.  There  was  a  rumor  that  one  boat  load 
of  boys  went  over  the  falls  and  were  drowned.  Be 
that  as  it  may,  there  were  undoubtedly  a  large 
number  of  rough  characters  attracted  to  this  place 
by  Mr.  Schwarmer's  free  distribution  of  fireworks, 
and  by  the  alluring  advertisements  that  appeared 
in  all  the  country  newspapers  hereabouts,  with  re- 
gard to  it." 

Mr.  Cornwallis  paused  again,  and  again  there 
was  silence — the  silence  of  expectancy.  He  went 
on: 

"I  have  only  one  word  more  to  say.  The  Lord 
help  me  to  say  it.  I  charge  no  man  with  the  death 
of  my  son,  still  I  believe  we  are  all  more  or  less  to 
blame.  We  are  surely  to  blame  for  allowing  our 
National  Day  to  be  turned  into  a  fiery  Moloch  for 
the  sacrifice  of  the  youth  of  our  land.  I  see  it  as 
plain  now  as  though  it  were  written  in  letters  of 
fire;  and  I  ought  to  have  seen  it  before.  I  ought 
to  have  been  doing  something  to  guard  our  little 
ones  from  this  dreadful  monster  all  these  years 
while  I  have  been  mourning  for  my  boy ;  but  the 
misery  was  so  great,  the  mystery  so  incomprehen- 
sible that  I  could  not  bear  to  think  of  it.  It  seemed 

96 


A  Public  Meeting 

as  though  I  should  go  crazy.  Besides  I  had  great 
fears  for  my  wife  and  still  greater  for  my  daugh- 
ter. But  all  that  has  passed  by,  thank  God,  and 
I  am  ready  now  to  join  you  in  the  good  cause." 

He  sat  down  amidst  cries  of  "Amen"  and 
"Amen!" 

Ruth  leaned  back  in  her  seat  and  looked  at 
Ralph  radiantly.  He  continued  his  statistics : 

"The  next  year  two  boys  died  of  lockjaw,  caused 
by  the  blank  cartridges  known  to  have  been  given 
them  by  Mr.  Schwarmer.  Several  others  lost  fin- 
gers and  eyes.  If  there  are  any  of  the  latter  pres- 
ent will  they  please  make  it  manifest?" 

Three  young  men  rose  to  their  feet.  One  was 
totally  blind  and  the  others  partially. 

Every  eye  in  the  hall  was  turned  toward  them 
and  expressions  of  sympathy  were  heard  from  all 
sides.  These  object  lessons  had  a  good  effect,  but 
there  was  no  time  for  more  and  Ralph  hurried  on 
with  the  statistics,  confident  that  no  more  were  need- 
ed. The  list  being  completed,  then  came  the  ques- 
tion— Why  was  it  that  this  town  of  Killsbury  con- 
tributed the  largest  quota  to  the  Fourth  of  July 
death  roll  of  any  town  in  the  state?  He  sat  down 
amidst  cries  of  "why"  and  "shame  on  the  town." 

"Yes,  shame  on  the  town,"  said  a  man  rising 
promptly  in  his  seat ;  "  and  shame  on  Mr.  Schwar- 
mer. I  think  we  all  know  that  he  is  responsible  for 
the  surplus  of  accidents  in  this  town.  That  it  is 
directly  due  to  his  distribution  of  free  fireworks 

97 


The  Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

among  the  ignorant  and  irresponsible  classes ;  for  I 
happen  to  know  that  he  doesn't  always  draw  the 
line  at  the  small  boy.  I  saw  him  on  one  occasion 
throw  boxes  and  boxes  of  firecrackers  and  car- 
tridges among  a  crowd  that  had  collected  around, 
just  as  kings  do  money,  and  then  stop  and  laugh 
to  see  the  scrabbling  after  them. 

"Still  I  suppose  we  ought  to  go  slow  in  the  mat- 
ter of  fixing  the  blame  on  Mr.  Schwarmer — a  val- 
uable man  and  one  who  is  supposed  to  have  done  or 
is  expected  to  do  so  much  for  the  town  though  I 
can't  just  tell  what  he  has  done — can't  give  the 
statistics,  not  having  lived  here  always,  as  friend 
Pollock  who  sits  by  my  side  has.  Perhaps  he  can 
tell  you." 

"I'll  be  plagued  if  I  can  think  of  a  plaguy  thing 
he's  done  for  this  town,"  said  Pollock  testily.  The 
fact  is,  he  was  born  on  the  Town  and  our  fathers 
fed  him  and  clothed  him  and  gave  him  a  good  send- 
off  as  soon  as  they  saw  that  he  had  spunk  enough 
in  him  to  go.  After  he  turned  up  in  the  Stock 
Exchange,  he  paid  them  off  by  torn-fooling  their 
sons  and  taking  every  spare  dollar  from  them  to 
gamble  with  and  lose  for  them  and  finally  win  back 
again  into  his  own  pocket.  I  know  that  well 
enough  for  I  knew  one  of  the  tomfools.  There  were 
lots  and  lots  of  others,  but  they  never  told  how  they 
got  sucked  in.  It  leaked  out  little  by  little  though 
and  more  than  one  spoke  out  plainly  before  they 
died ;  but  it  seems  as  though  we  were  determined  to 

98 


A  Public  Meeting 

be  blind,  deaf  and  dumb  in  the  matter  and  all  be- 
cause he  coddled  us  boys — giving  us — what? 
Things  to  kill  and  disfigure  ourselves  with.  You 
see  this  crippled  hand,  don't  you?"  he  added,  hold- 
ing up  his  right  hand,  which  had  three  stiff  fin- 
gers. "Well  I  am  indebted  to  him  for  that  and 
I've  cursed  him  for  it  many  a  time  in  secret,  but 
I've  never  been  honest  enough  to  out  with  it  'til 
now.  That's  all  he's  ever  done  for  me.  I  can't  say 
as  to  the  carpenters  that  built  his  house.  I  never 
heard  that  any  of  them  got  rich  out  of  his  carpen- 
tering though  he  built  a  big  house  for  himself, 
then  a  big  stable  for  his  horses,  and  then  an  addi- 
tion to  the  stable  for  more  horses.  All  he's 
ever  done  for  the  town  is  to  make  a  big  show 
up  on  the  hill,  with  his  sky-scraper  and  sky 
rockets.  He  has  never  benefited  the  people  except 
with  the  kind  of  benefit  that  a  cat  may  get  by  look- 
ing at  a  king." 

"That's  about  it,"  said  a  man  in  the  back  end 
of  the  hall,  addressing  his  remarks  to  those  imme- 
diately about  him.  "There  was  a  time  when  the 
boys  could  go  a  fishing  in  the  river  and  get  a  nice 
mess  of  Bull-heads  for  Fourth  of  July  dinner.  But 
now  he  owns  the  river  and  all  that's  in  it.  He  had 
Ben  Hawley  arrested  last  Fourth  for  fishing  in 
his  river.  Humph !  It  won't  be  long  before  he  will 
own  us  as  well  as  the  river.  He  thinks  he  has  more 
right  to  us  now  than  the  Lord  Almighty." 

"Keoo !"  shouted  an  overgrown  lad.    "The  river 

99 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

is  his  and  all  that's  in  it.  Let's  dump  some  more 
of  his  traps  in  the  river.  I'll  help,  by  gar,  I  will !" 
At  that  moment  Father  Ferrill  came  in  and  took 
the  noisy  boy  in  charge. 


100 


CHAPTER  XI. 

APPEAL   INSTEAD    OF    PROHIBITION. 

HE  matter  of  responsibility  for  the  in- 
crease  or  rather  surplus  of  Independence 
Day  accidents  in  the  town  of  Killsbury, 
being    settled    the    question    was,    what 
should  be  done  about  it? 

Alderman  Spofford  proposed  that  "a  paper — a 
smooth  kind  of  paper  such  as  Lawyer  Rattlinger 
could  write  should  be  gotten  up  and  sent  to  Mr. 
Schwarmer  asking  him  to  desist  from  distributing 
fireworks  among  the  boys  of  the  town.  He  said 
he  would  like  to  hear  Rattlinger's  views  on  the  sub- 
pect." 

"As  I  understand  it,"  replied  Rattlinger,  "the 
main  object  of  this  meeting  is  to  save  our  town 
from  this  year's  slaughter — a  slaughter  that  will 
surely  take  place  if  free  fireworks  are  distributed 
here  as  usual.  The  day  is  at  hand.  The  peril  is 
imminent.  The  question  is  what  would  we  do  if 
we  had  word  that  the  king  of  Spain  had  sent  arms 
and  munitions  of  war  to  this  place  and  that  he 
would  be  here  to-morrow  to  distribute  them  or  arm 
the  irresponsible  classes?" 

101 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

"We  would  say  he  was  the  devil  in  disguise  and 
we  would  have  none  of  his  works,"  said  a  white- 
haired  man  rising  slowly  in  his  seat.  It  was  Philip 
Daycoy,  the  oldest  man  in  town.  He  had  the  rep- 
utation of  being  one  of  the  thirteen  men  who 
(painted  and  disguised  as  Indians)  boarded  the 
steamer,  Sir  Robert  Peel;  and  yelling  their  war 
cry — "Remember  the  Caroline,"  put  the  passen- 
gers to  flight,  plundered  it  and  sent  it  ablaze  down 
the  river. 

"My  proposition  is  that  we  do  just  about  as  our 
forefathers  and  the  Emperor  of  China  did  with 
the  tea  and  opium  that  England  tried  to  force 
upon  them." 

There  was  a  round  of  applause  from  the  crowd 
that  had  gathered  in  the  back  part  of  the  hall  and 
cries  of  "how !  how !  Tell  us  just  how,  Patriot  Day- 
coy,  and  by  gorra,  we'll  do  it !" 

Was  the  brutal  instinct  being  stirred  up?  Philip 
Daycoy,  who  was  sitting  by  the  Reverend  Dr.  Nor~ 
mander,  looked  at  him  appealingly.  Many  a  year 
had  elapsed  since  he  had  thought  of  himself  as  a 
patriot  or  of  the  burning  of  the  Sir  Robert  Peel 
as  a  truly  patriotic  transaction. 

"Help  me  out,  for  God's  sake,  Doctor.  I  don't 
like  that  brutal  howling  back  there.  There  must 
be  a  way  and  a  right  way  to  do  this  thing — a  way 
to  do  it  without  using  muskets  and  bayonets  and 
setting  the  cars  on  fire." 

The    reverend    gentleman    arose    quickly    and 

102 


Appeal  Instead  of  Prohibition 

stretched  out  his  arms  as  though  to  still  a  rising 
tempest. 

"Our  aged  brother  Daycoy  has  authorized  me 
to  answer  the  question  for  him.  I  know  perfectly 
well  how  he  feels  about  matters  of  this  kind.  He 
doesn't  feel  exactly  as  he  did  when  he  was  young 
and  inexperienced.  He  was  only  18  years  old 
when  he  boarded  the  English  steamer,  with  his  re- 
vengeful cry.  He  has  learned  a  better  and  higher 
wisdom  since  then.  He  wants  the  right  thing  done 
every  time.  He  believes  in  extreme  measures  in  ex- 
treme cases  but  he  does  not  believe  in  savage  meas- 
ures. That  is,  he  does  not  propose  that  we  should 
disguise  ourselves  as  Indians,  arm  ourselves  with 
muskets  and  bayonets  and  seize  the  patriotic  stuff 
which  Lawyer  Rattlinger  has  likened  very  aptly 
to  arms  and  munitions  of  war.  To  dress  like  a  sav- 
age and  use  the  war  implements  of  the  civilized 
man  would  be  making  a  composite  of  the  worst 
features  of  both.  He  simply  means  that  we  must 
act  promptly  and  with  sufficient  energy  to  avert 
the  horrible  annual  slaughter  so  near  at  hand.  I 
am  with  him  in  heart  and  soul.  I  believe  the  short- 
est way  would  be  the  surest  way  and  I,  like  the 
President,  would  take  it  if  possible;  and  I  believe 
we  all  would.  For  instance,  if  by  some  miraculous 
event,  there  should  be  a  load  of  these  dangerous  ex- 
plosives standing  in  the  street  as  we  go  out  of  this 
hall  I  believe  we  would  seize  upon  them  with  divine 
accord  and  proceed  to  throw  them  in  the  river  or 

103 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

put  them  where  they  could  never  harm  any  one. 
But  as  nothing  so  miraculous  is  likely  to  occur  I 
propose  the  next  shortest  way — that  is  that  the 
common  council  take  the  matter  in  hand  and  act 
promptly  and  to  the  full  limit  of  its  power.  My 
impression  is  that  the  City  Fathers  have  a  reserve 
of  power  vested  in  them  for  such  emergencies,  and 
my  belief  is  that  the  great  trouble  with  those  in 
authority  everywhere  is  that  they  fail  to  use  the 
authority  when  it  is  needed  the  most.  If  I  am 
wrong  on  these  points  I  hope  Lawyer  Rattlinger 
will  correct  me." 

"You  are  right  in  the  main,"  replied  Rattlinger. 
"The  City  Fathers  have  a  reserve  of  power  for 
just  such  cases  and  now  is  the  time  for  the  people 
to  call  on  them  to  use  the  reserve.  It  is  needed 
now,  every  inch  of  it;  and  the  whole  moral  force 
of  the  people  back  of  it.  Begging  the  reverend 
gentleman's  pardon,  I  think  generally  that  the 
great  trouble  with  the  people  is  that  they  do  not 
come  out  as  strongly  as  they  should  and  make  their 
grievances  known." 

"That's  as  true  as  Gospel,  Mr,  Rattlinger — at 
least  as  far  as  I  am  concerned;  and  I  wish,  as  a 
representative  of  the  moral  force  (supposedly  so) 
to  confess  right  here,  that  I  have  not  done  my 
whole  duty  with  regard  to  our  Independence  Day 
peril;  for  while  I  have  lost  no  opportunity  of 
warning  my  church  people  against  it,  I  feel  that 
I  have  done  very  little  outside  of  the  church  and 

104 


Appeal  Instead  of  Prohibition 

ought  to  repent,  not  exactly  in  sack-cloth  and 
ashes,  but  by  doing  double  duty  hereafter — work- 
ing outside  of  the  church  as  well  as  in  it.  I  there- 
fore propose  that  a  notice  be  drafted  prohibiting 
the  selling  or  giving  away  of  any  kind  of  explo- 
sives to  any  person  within  the  corporation  and 
that  said  notice  be  printed  and  posted  up  early  to- 
morrow morning  in  all  of  the  most  conspicuous 
places.  I  don't  know  as  to  the  legal  efficiency  of 
such  a  notice  in  suppressing  the  nuisance  at  once, 
but  I  think  it  would  help  very  greatly.  Am  I  right, 
Mr.  President." 

"In  view  of  the  shortness  of  time  and  more  espe- 
cially of  the  ease  with  which  prohibitory  laws  are 
evaded,"  replied  the  President,  "I  propose  that  in- 
stead of  a  prohibitory  notice  there  be  a  short  but 
stirring  appeal  to  the  people,  one  and  all,  to  refrain 
from  buying,  selling,  using  or  giving  away  any  of 
the  iniquitous  Fourth  of  July  implements.  Accord- 
ing to  the  doctrine  of  love  and  trust  that  I  have 
been  taught,  a  good  strong  appeal  is  far  ahead  of 
prohibition.  Prohibition  savors  of  tyranny  and 
kingliness.  It  is  American  bossism.  It  is  squarely 
against  human  nature.  Tell  a  child  he  shan't  do 
a  thing  and  impose  a  heavy  penalty,  and  he  is  sure 
to  do  it,  if  possible.  It's  the  same  with  children 
of  a  larger  growth  and  more  especially  so  with  the 
makers  of  millions.  They  care  nothing  for  fines 
and  even  imprisonment  is  being  made  delightful 
for  them ;  but  they  have  a  lot  of  human  nature  in 

105 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

them  and  they  can  be  ruled  by  love  as  well  as  the 
rest  of  humanity. 

"As  to  Millionaire  Schwarmer  we  should  love  him 
for  the  good  he  might  do,  and  probably  would  do, 
had  he  been  brought  up  and  educated  in  an  Ideal 
Town  and  under  an  Ideal  Government.  We  should 
love  him  and  hate  his  fireworks  and  rid  ourselves  of 
them  as  soon  as  we  can  get  hold  of  the  infamous 
things.  I  see  that  Editor  Parnell  is  present.  I 
think  he  could  get  up  the  right  kind  of  an  appeal 
— an  appeal  that  would  be  so  truly  loving  that  it 
would  reach  every  heart  and  yet  be  as  urgent  as  it 
possibly  can  be  without  antagonizing  the  will.  We 
would  like  to  hear  from  him  at  all  events." 

The  editor  replied  "that  he  did  not  come  to  ex- 
press his  own  opinions  but  to  report  and  publish 
the  opinions  of  others,  but  he  would  say  that  he 
thought  the  President's  idea  of  an  appeal  in  place 
of  prohibition  was  an  excellent  one;  and  since  he 
had  given  such  a  luminous  idea  of  it,  he  was  willing 
to  undertake  it  and  would  make  it  as  urgent  as 
possible  without  distancing  the  party  for  whom  it 
was  chiefly  intended." 

He  also  begged  leave  to  say  "that  although  he 
was  not  quite  up  to  Thoreau's  idea  of  Civic  diso- 
bedience, still  he  believed  it  necessary  at  times  to 
act  quite  contrary  to  government  rules,  or  at  least 
give  the  governing  powers  a  few  instructions  in 
civic  procedure.  As  the  matter  now  stands  we 
have  two  national  days  on  our  hands  that  have  be- 

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Appeal   Instead  of  Prohibition 

come  public  nuisances  to  say  the  least.  The  one 
is  Independence  Day  and  the  other  is  Decoration 
Day.  In  my  opinion  they  should  be  reformed, 
abolished  or  merged  into  Thanksgiving  Day  and 
re-baptised. 

"But  as  this  meeting  under  Golden  Rule  leading 
has  added  a  sort  of  civic  confessional  department, 
I  am  obliged  to  confess,  like  my  aged  brother,  Day- 
coy,  that  I  did  not  feel  that  way  when  I  was  eigh- 
teen or  thereabouts,  which  leads  me  to  suggest  an 
educational  department,  or  a  return  to  the  old- 
fashioned  Town  meeting  which  contained  the  bud 
of  the  ' 'referendum'  that  has  borne  such  good  fruit 
in  far  away  Oregon  and  Switzerland." 

The  editor  sat  down  amidst  cheers,  laughter  and 
cries  of  "Draft  the  appeal,  Parnell."  "Make  it 
urgent." 

The  appeal  was  drafted,  read,  approved  and 
handed  back  to  the  editor  for  printing  and  post- 
ing. Then  the  President  made  the  closing  speech 
in  which  he  said: 

"I  believe  we  have  done  all  that  it  is  expedient 
to  do  at  this  time  in  this  direction.  But  we  can 
work  in  a  great  many  other  directions — just  as 
many  as  there  are  persons  in  this  hall.  Everybody 
can  do  something  individually  toward  preventing 
Fourth  of  July  accidents.  As  to  Schwarmer  I  hope 
the  honest  scoring  he  has  had  at  this  meeting  will 
make  a  new  man  of  him.  It  may  have  been  a  little 
too  hard,  but  formerly  it  was  surely  too  soft.  In 

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The   Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

fact  it  is  difficult  to  treat  a  millionaire  exactly 
right. 

"We  incline  to  think  that  because  a  man  is  worth 
millions,  he  must  have  every  other  good  quality. 
This  is  absurd.  He  lives  in  the  same  world  that  we 
live  in,  and  if  he  does  not  live  in  a  glass  house,  he 
does  live  in  a  house  with  large  plate  glass  windows 
in  it,  and  is  exposed  to  the  same  surveillance  and 
temptations.  He  has  the  same  need  of  honest 
treatment.  He  is  drawn  by  the  same  chords  of 
love  and  sympathy. 

"As  to  the  children,  I  believe  that  one  of  the 
greatest  obstacles  in  the  way  of  this  reform  is  the 
inclination  of  the  older  people  to  shut  their  eyes  to 
the  doings  of  the  youngsters  on  this  day.  This 
will  not  do,  my  friends.  It  is  not  until  we  have 
taught  them  the  higher  lessons  of  love  and  right 
action  for  every  day  of  the  year,  that  we  can  hope 
to  accomplish  a  pure  and  permanent  reform.  Like 
Brother  Parnell  I  believe  in  the  old-fashioned  edu- 
cative Town  meeting,  but  I  would  not  have  it  too 
old-fashioned.  The  city  mothers  as  well  as  fath- 
ers should  be  in  it,  just  as  they  are  here  tonight." 

The  meeting  closed  with  the  doxology.  Father 
Ferrill  and  the  Reverend  Dr.  Normander  went  out 
arm  in  arm — and  the  miraculous  happened!  The 
overgrown  boy  who  shouted  "Keeo !  Let's  dump  'em 
in  the  river,"  was  sitting  in  his  express  wagon  un- 
der the  strong  light  of  the  street  lamp.  As  soon 
as  he  saw  the  clergymen,  he  called  out : 

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Appeal   Instead  of  Prohibition 

"A  miracle,  Father  Ferrill!  Explosives  un- 
guarded, Dr.  Normander!  Shortest  way  out  of 
Fourth  of  July  racket!  I  would  like  to  know  the 
sense  of  this  meeting.  Will  it  have  sense  enough 
to  order  me  to  drive  on  to  the  river?  I'd  like  to 
drive  on.  Will  the  folks  surround  me?  I'd  like  to 
be  surrounded.  Will  they  help  me  dump  this  pa- 
triotic stuff  into  the  river?  I'd  like  to  be  helped." 

Father  Ferrill  went  to  the  lad  and  spoke  to  him 
in  a  low  tone  of  voice,  after  which  he  rose  up  in  his 
seat.  The  lamp  flared  full  in  his  face.  He  raised 
his  eyes  and  made  the  sign  of  the  cross. 

This  is  the  sign  that  his  words  are  true,"  said 
Father  Ferrill  turning  to  the  crowd.  "It  would 
seem  that  miraculous  things  do  happen  even  in 
these  sinful  days.  The  logic  of  it  is  this  (You  see 
I  understand  that  the  real  Yankee  always  wants  a 
reason  for  everything)  :  When  a  very  important 
matter  agitates  the  community,  no  knowing  where 
the  wave  will  end  or  what  it  will  bring  back  to  us. 
It  is  then  that  a  miracle  happens.  Dr.  Normander 
wished  for  a  miracle  and  something  very  like  it 
has  happened.  The  history  of  it  is  this :  This  lad 
through  whom  the  so-called  miracle  has  come,  was 
the  foster  child  of  Captain  Dan  Solomon,  who  was 
killed  several  years  ago  by  the  bursting  of  a  can- 
non on  Schwarmer  Hill.  He  has  always  thought 
that  Schwarmer  was  to  blame  for  that  accident. 
He  had  an  order  from  him  this  afternoon  to  deliver 
the  Fourth  of  July  goods  at  his  mansion  on  the 

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The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

Hill.  He  stopped  in  to  this  meeting  on  his  way  to 
the  train.  When  Dr.  Normander  expressed  a  de- 
sire to  get  his  eye  on  those  explosives  he  hastened 
out.  Now  he  is  here  with  the  atrocious  things  and 
has  given  me  the  bill  to  read  for  your  enlighten- 
ment: 

200  boxes  of  firecrackers  (common) 

100       "     "  "  (giant) 

100        "     "  blank  cartridges 
50         "     "  Toy  pistols 
Express  Agents  please  handle  with  care. 

J.    E.    SCHWARMER." 

"Yes  !  yes !  We'll  handle  them  with  care — on  to 
the  river!"  shouted  a  chorus  of  voices. 

Where's  the  President  ?"  asked  Father  Ferrill. 

"Inside  with  the  aldermen;"  cried  Ralph,  "but 
we  need  not  wait  for  him.  We  will  go  on  at  once. 
He  will  approve.  He  believes  in  the  people.  He 
sings  a  song  about  them.  Come  on  Dick  Solomon ! 
Come  on  everybody !  I  will  sing  his  song  for  you 
while  we  go."  He  burst  forth  in  a  beautiful  tenor 
voice : 

"O  I'm  a  man  without  a  party — a  free  untrammeled  soul ! 
An  undivided  atom,  within  a  mighty  whole ! 
I  believe  in  all  the  people;  in  them  we  shall  be  blest, 
It  is  through  the  common  people  we  shall  find  the  promised 
rest." 

They  went  on,  Ralph  and  Ruth,  arm  in  arm, 
and  the  crowd  followed.  The  moon  came  out  in 
regal  splendor  as  they  reached  the  bridge.  It  was 

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Appeal  Instead  of  Prohibition 

Schwarmer's  bridge  that  the  corporation  had  built 
for  him.  It  had  a  lamp  on  each  end,  making  it 
light  enough  to  read  the  names  on  the  boxes  with- 
out difficulty.  There  was  a  large  assortment  of 
patriotic  death-dealers  such  as  the  bill  had  shown 
— and  more  too.  In  a  bundle  tied  up  separately 
they  found  some  choice  specimens  such  as  Pow- 
dered Crackers,  Sacred  Mandarins,  Aaron's  Rod, 
Yankee  Doodle  Doos,  and  Giant  Torpedos. 

"These  were  for  the  large  boys,"  said  Ralph. 
"Truly  Mr.  Schwarmer  was  going  to  give  every 
boy  in  Killsbury  a  glorious  chance  to  kill  himself 
this  year." 

"Do  you  suppose  that  any  of  those  boxes  could 
possibly  be  fished  out?"  asked  Ruth  after  the  last 
box  had  gone  over  the  falls. 

"Hardly,"  laughed  Ralph.  "I  never  heard  of 
anything  being  fished  out  that  went  over  the  falls 
into  the  deep  hole  at  the  foot.  Some  say  it  goes 
through  to  China.  If  it  did  it  would  be  serving 
old  China  right — sending  their  vicious  wares  back 
to  them." 

"And  a  curious  reminder  to  John  Chinaman  if 
it  be  true  that  he  uses  the  American  Missionaries' 
tracts  in  the  construction  of  firecrackers  for  the 
American  market,"  said  Father  Ferrill.  "At  any 
rate  we  have  the  consolation  of  knowing  that  this 
batch  of  powder  will  be  too  wet  to  do  any  damage 
this  Fourth.  The  City  Fathers  can  get  their  ordi- 
nance in  perfect  working  order  before  the  next — so 

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The  Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

perfect  that  no  miracle  will  be  needed  to  help  them 
out.  Cromwell's  order  to  his  soldiers  was  to  'trust 
in  the  Lord  and  keep  their  powder  dry.'  Lord  grant 
that  we  may  trust  in  His  Holy  Name  and  keep  our 
powder  wet." 

It  was  a  reversion  of  the  brutal  saying  that  has 
been  taught  in  military  schools  for  more  than  a 
century,  and  it  sounded  like  a  benediction  to  Ruth 
as  she  took  Ralph's  arm  and  turned  away  with  a 
thankful  heart. 

They  walked  on  in  lover-like  silence  until  Ruth 
broke  out  in  her  enthused  way : 

"Do  you  know,  Ralph,  I  just  love  Father  Fer- 
rill!" 

"Hold  on  there !    Not  too  much  of  that,  Ruth !" 

"But  I  do  love  him  very  much!  He's  so  good 
and  wise.  Wasn't  it  splendid  his  re-version  of 
Cromwell's  order?" 

"Yes,  Ruth,  it  was  very  apt,  but  you  are  not  to 
love  him." 

"Hush,  Ralph!  you  ought  to  be  ashamed  of 
yourself." 

But  it  was  honey-moon  time  and  Ralph  was  not 
ashamed  either  of  his  words  or  actions  on  that 
charmed  occasion.  He  finally  admitted,  however, 
after  sundry  concessions  from  Ruth  that  Father 
Ferrill  was  a  very  fine  man,  and  that  his  re-version 
of  the  old  Cromwellian  adage  had  given  him  a  new 
idea  on  the  subject  of  adages." 

"What  is  it,  Ralph?" 

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Appeal  Instead  of  Prohibition 

"Tell  it  not  to  the  professional  litterateur  or  the 
dusty  book-worm,  Ruth;  but  the  idea  is  that  all 
those  brutal  old  sayings  that  have  been  handed 
down  to  us  from  warring  ages  need  to  be  revised 
or  done  away  with  as  badly  as  the  old  brutal  cus- 
toms of  which  they  were  born."  'In  times  of  peace 
prepare  for  war,'  is  another  old  serpent." 

"It  should  be,  'In  times  of  peace  prepare  for 
more  peace,'  "  said  Ruth. 

"And  love,"  added  Ralph. 

As  to  the  rest  of  the  crowd  that  wended  their 
way  homeward  that  night  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
there  was  not  a  soul  among  them  that  did  not  feel 
elated  with  the  thought  that  they  had  done  a  deed 
that  would  save  more  than  one  mother's  heart  from 
anguish  on  the  day  that  was  fast  approaching, 
and  might  be  the  means  of  saving  scores  upon 
scores  in  the  years  that  were  to  come. 

The  Golden  Rule  President  was  more  than 
pleased  when  he  found  that  the  shortest  way  had 
been  made  available,  and  that  the  people,  "the 
blessed  people,"  had  caught  the  inspiration  of 
Divinity  and  had  done  their  own  work. 

Editor  Parnell's  report  was  a  luminous  one ;  but 
whether  it  hit  the  conscience  or  pride  of  one  of  the 
passengers  on  the  Killsbury  train  the  next  morn- 
ing will  be  revealed  hereafter. 


113 


CHAPTER  XII. 

A  GOOD  CELEBRATION ADELAIDE  SCHWARMER  AND 

RUTH'S  DOG. 

ALPH  learned  that  the  Schwarmer  Pyro- 
technics and  the  agent  employed  to  show 
them  off  had  come  as  usual  on  the  mid- 
night train.     His  wife  and  daughter  had 
also  come,  so  as  a  matter  of  course  there  would  be 
an  extra  display.     They  did  not  come  every  year 
as  Schwarmer  himself  did. 

They  were  in  London  last  Fourth  and  were  roy- 
ally entertained  by  a  celebrated  Pyrotechnist,  who 
invented  a  patriotic  piece  called  Eagle's  Screams 
on  purpose  for  them,"  said  Ralph. 

"Perhaps  they  brought  one  home  with  them." 
laughed  Ruth. 

"And  will  bring  it  to  the  Hill  to  show  off,"  add- 
ed Ralph.  "Well  it  will  be  better  and  less  danger- 
ous than  those  abominable  rockets." 

"I  thought  rockets  were  not  very  dangerous, 
Ralph." 

"There  are  rockets  and  rockets,  sky  rockets  and 

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A  Good  Celebration 

war  rockets  and  the  Satanic  inventors  are  getting 
up  new  and  worse  ones  every  year.  No  knowing 
what  kind  they  have  on  the  Hill.  I  have  known 
of  their  having  one  at  least  that  travelled  a  much 
longer  distance  than  from  here  to  the  Hill  and 
then  went  swooping  down  to  the  earth  like  a  thun- 
der bolt  from  the  sky;  but  how  stupid  of  me  to 
tell  you  so,  dear.  Forgive  me  if  I  have  made  you 
afraid." 

"Not  a  bit,  Ralph!  I  am  never  going  to  be 
afraid  any  more — that  is,  if  you  will  tell  me  all 
about  those  fiendish  inventions,  so  I  can  keep  out 
of  their  way  and  help  keep  others  out  also.  O  how 
dreadful  though  to  think  that  such  horrible  things 
are  made!  Surely  they  never  ought  to  be.  They 
are  made  to  kill.  They  are  a  menace  to  human  life 
on  a  prodigious  scale  and  the  men  who  invent  them 
are  no  better  than  would-be  murderers  and  should 
be  arrested  and  treated  as  such." 

"That's  true,  Ruth,  and  yet  the  governments  of 
the  world  approve  and  hasten  to  buy  the  murder- 
ous inventions.  There's  an  inventor  in  this  state 
who  has  made  a  gun  for  this  government  that  will 
throw  a  shell  thirty  miles  and  crash  a  boat  into 
kindling  wood  and  kill  every  soul  on  board.  And 
now  he  is  trying  to  invent  one  that  will  throw  a 
shell  one  hundred  miles — one  that  can  reach  from 
the  coast  of  France  across  the  English  channel 
and  rip  out  the  heart  of  London !" 

"O  how  hideous !"  exclaimed  Ruth.     "He  must 

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The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

be  a  fiend  incarnate;  but  what  about  the  Schwar- 
mer  rocket?" 

"Here  it  goes,"  said  Ralph. 

"Mamma  came  within  an  inch  of  having  her  arm 
gored  by  one  of  the  rockets  sent  down  from  the 
Hill  only  last  year.  She  cautioned  me  not  to  write 
to  you  about  it.  I  thought  it  foolish  not  to;  but 
perhaps  it  was  right  not  to  tell  you  then.  Now  it 
is  different.  You  have  grown  so  brave — so  sud- 
denly brave.  It  seems  to  me  you  are  growing 
braver  and  braver  every  hour.  It's  like  a  miracle ! 
Explain." 

Ruth's  explanation  set  Ralph  into  raptures. 
Presently,  however,  she  called  for  an  explanation 
in  turn. 

"There  isn't  much  more  to  explain,"  said  Ralph. 
"We  all  sat  on  the  piazza  watching  the  sky-rock- 
ets that  were  being  sent  up  from  the  hill,  at  least 
the  rest  were.  If  I  remember  rightly  I  wasn't  pay- 
ing much  attention  to  them.  My  imagination  had 
'crossed  over' — you  understand  gone  over  the  bor- 
der— across  the  river — you  see?" 

"Yes !  yes  Ralph,  you  foolish  fellow — go  on." 

"All  at  once  up  went  a  splendid  rocket — ever 
and  ever  so  high — 'up  out  of  sight,'  papa  said; 
but  he  was  mistaken,  for  a  second  after  it  came 
whizzing  down  close  by  mamma's  arm  and  crashed 
into  the  ground.  Mamma  was  sitting  very  near  to 
the  edge  of  the  veranda.  If  she  had  only  been  an 
inch  nearer  it  would  have  gashed  her  arm  fright- 

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A  Good  Celebration 

fully  without  doubt.  I  dug  the  thing  up  the  next 
morning  and  am  going  to  keep  it  in  remembrance 
of  Millionaire  Schwarmer." 

"How  did  it  look,  Ralph?"  I  never  saw  one  ex- 
cept in  air;  tell  me." 

"A  conical  shaped  piece  of  lead,  Ruth — worse 
than  a  cannon  ball,  because  it  has  a  pointed  end. 
I'll  show  it  to  you  to-morrow." 

"We  must  tell  the  President  about  that  and  see 
if  something  can't  be  done  before  another  Fourth 
comes  to  stop  him  from  showering  such  things 
upon  the  town,"  said  Ruth  with  decisive  emphasis. 

Then  they  went  to  the  grove  and  worked  like 
heroes.  Ere  long  there  was  a  great  army  of  them. 
Tables  were  spread  as  if  by  magic  and  laden  with 
fowls,  fruits,  cakes  and  candies  of  all  description. 
The  brass  band  played  its  best  music.  Flags  flut- 
tered in  the  breeze — mottoes  were  every-where  and 
over  the  arched  entrance  was  the  unique  invitation 
— "A  feast  is  better  than  firecrackers.  Come  boys 
and  girls.  Save  your  eyes  and  your  pennies." 

They  came  in  overwhelming  numbers — hand 
in  hand  with  their  fathers,  mothers  and 
teachers  and  with  looks  of  eager  interest  on  their 
young  faces.  They  enjoyed  themselves  and  each 
other's  society  as  they  never  had  before  on  their 
nation's  birthday. 

In  fact  the  whole  community  seemed  to  have 
been  taken  suddenly  off  its  feet  ("out  of  the  pit 
and  miry  clay"  as  the  minister  expressed  it)  and 

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The  Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

whirled  up  to  a  higher  plane.  He  preached  the 
best  sermon  of  his  life,  if  it  could  be  called  a  ser- 
mon. It  was  short  and  to  the  point — well  adapted 
to  the  higher  plane  on  which  he  was  standing  with 
all  the  rest. 

Among  the  good  things  that  he  said  was  that 
"our  National  Day  should  be  a  day  of  tender  mem- 
ories, regrets  and  righteous  resolves — tender  mem- 
ories of  those  who  had  died  that  we  might  have 
a  free  country  in  which  to  live.  Regrets  that  such 
death  and  bloody  sacrifice  should  have  been  essen- 
tial or  seemed  so — deep  regrets  that  we  did  not 
have  a  court  of  arbitration  in  the  pre-revolution- 
ary  times,  such  as  we  now  have;  and  resolves  to 
appeal  to  it  and  abide  by  its  wise  decisions  for  all 
future  time.  As  to  this  community  which  has  been 
so  providentially  turned  God-ward,  or  lifted  to  a 
higher  plane  let  it  be  further  resolved  that  we  will 
maintain  that  high  position  with  our  whole  might 
and  main — that  we  will  go  ahead  in  this  good  fight 
until  all  these  devil-caught  celebrations,  life-de- 
stroying games  and  brutal  amusements  are  done 
away  with — or  the  devil  in  them  cast  out." 

Ralph  seconded  the  minister's  resolution  and  it 
was  carried  amidst  manifestations  of  great  joy. 

It  was  afterward  averred  that  the  church  peo- 
ple really  kissed  each  other  according  to  the  bib- 
lical instruction  and  it  is  true  that  many  mothers 
kissed  their  boys  and  that  Ralph  kissed  Ruth  fer- 
vently, whereupon  those  who  did  not  know  of  their 

118 


A    FEAST    IS    BETTER    THAX     FIRECRACKERS. 


A  Good  Celebration 

marriage  became  suddenly  aware  of  it  and  there 
was  a  general  rush  to  kiss  the  bride  and  congrat- 
ulate the  bridegroom. 

"And  so  they  have  got  their  wedding  reception 
after  all,  Angeline,"  laughed  Mr.  Cornwallis,  "and 
without  any  fussery  or  finery  of  the  tiresome  cut 
and  dried  pattern." 

Then  the  brass  band  played  a  wedding  march. 
Lawyer  Rattlinger  and  President  Hartling 
dropped  in  and  made  excellent,  "higher  plane" 
speeches — that  is,  speeches  delightfully  devoid  of 
brutish  war-sentiment  and  silly  spread-eagleism — 
after  which  the  Sunday-school  children  sang,  "God 
Bless  Our  Native  Land,"  with  great  vigor  and 
were  rewarded  with  a  delicious  finish  of  ice-cream 
and  lemonade. 

They  went  home  as  happy  as  larks,  although 
their  pockets  were  stuffed  with  nuts  and  candies 
instead  of  baneful  firecrackers  and  deadly  toy-pis- 
tols— a  lively  protest  for  their  elders  who  have 
been  too  ready  to  say  that  a  boy  will  not  be  sat- 
isfied with  anything  that  does  not  possess  the  ele- 
ments of  noise  and  danger. 

As  Ralph  surmised,  the  Schwarmers  were  mak- 
ing great  preparations  for  the  evening  display. 
It  was  to  be  a  splendid  one.  A  select  party  had 
been  invited  from  the  city  to  witness  it.  They 
came  on  the  afternoon  train  while  the  celebration 
was  at  its  height;  so  their  advent  made  no  sensa- 
tion. The  shops  were  closed  and  the  streets  were 

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The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

quite  deserted,  greatly  to  Mr.  Schwarmer's  cha- 
grin, for  in  making  his  plans  for  a  brilliant  gath- 
ering he  had  counted  on  a  background  of  gaping 
people  and  corruscating  fireworks.  The  deficiency 
was  so  noticeable  that  Mr.  Alfonso  Bombs,  the  ris- 
ing Pyro-spectacle  King  of  the  city — the  guest 
par  excellence  whom  he  wished  to  honor  in  an  ap- 
propriate manner,  exclaimed  derisively: 

"How's  this,  Schwarmer?  Have  they  exhaust- 
ed your  huge  supply  already  and  annihilated  them- 
selves in  the  performance?  I  thought  this  was 
your  kingdom  (so  to  speak)  and  we  should  be 
treated  to  a  triumphal  entry." 

Schwarmer  would  rather  have  had  the  matter 
unnoticed,  but  it  was  not  and  he  would  not  imperil 
his  reputation  for  bluntness  by  keeping  silence. 

"You've  been  in  England  too  long,  Alfonso. 
You've  forgotten  that  we  don't  have  things  of  that 
sort  as  they  do  on  the  other  side  of  the  pond — that 
is,  except  in  a  way,  you  understand — an  irregular 
sort  of  way.  Consequently  we  never  know  just 
what  will  take  place  at  a  given  point,  you  see — or 
just  when  a  triumphal  entry  will  materialize,  so  to 
speak,  most  assuredly  we  don't.  It's  never  been 
at  all  like  this  before;  most  assuredly  it  hasn't. 
"There  have  always  been  plenty  of  racket,  plenty 
of  fireworks  and  things  of  that  sort  from  dawn  to 
dark  and  fore  and  aft — variegated  with  a  run- 
away horse  and  excitements  of  that  kind;  but  the 
fact  is  a  great  moral  wave  has  struck  the  town — 

120 


A  Good  Celebration 

a  very  large  one.  You  see,  even  a  moral  wave  is 
liable  to  be  of  very  large  dimensions,  this  side  of 
the  pond." 

"Moral  wave!  Mr.  Schwarmer,"  drawled  one 
of  the  ladies.  "Re-al-ly  you  must  be  joking.  I 
have  been  educated  to  think  it  was  an  exceedingly 
immoral  procedure  not  to  celebrate  our  Indepen- 
dence Day  in  an  appropriate  and  impressive  man- 
ner." 

"Impressive — yes  truly  impressive,  dear  lady ; 
but  you  see  it's  too  impressive  sometimes — too 
largely  impressive,  as  everything  is  apt  to  be  in 
this  country — that  is  if  it's  impressive  at  all,  and 
now  and  then  it  impresses  the  wrong  boy.  Last 
year  a  lawyer's  little  boy  had  a  finger  broken  and 
an  alderman's  boy  had  an  eye  hurt." 

"Ah  indeed!  That  was  most  unfortunate,"  re- 
plied Miss  Drawling;  "and  they  were  people  of 
consequence — that  is,  in  this  small  community." 

"Certainly!  certainly — that  is  of  the  'toad  in 
the  puddle  style'  "  laughed  Schwarmer.  "So  you 
see  they  called  a  meeting,  a  sort  of  grievance  meet- 
ing and  resolved  not  to  let  their  children  have  any 
more  fireworks.  Now  I  believe  they  are  having  a 
pious  celebration  in  the  church  grove  or  grave- 
yard, I  don't  know  which." 

"Whew!  oh  whew!"  whistled  Mr.  Bombs;  and 
so  you  have  all  that  patriotic  fervor  on  your 
hands !  Shall  we  make  a  bonfire  of  it  tomorrow  as 
a  starter  to  their  lagging  patriotism?" 

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The   Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

"Not  unless  we  go  a-fishing,"  laughed  Schwar- 
mer, beckoning  him  aside.  "You  know  how  a  thing 
of  that  kind  turns  when  the  sediments  are  all 
stirred  up  so  to  speak.  A  lot  of  cranks  seized  the 
fireworks  and  dumped  them  all  into  the  river !  They 
fancied  they  were  our  forefathers,  I  suppose, 
dumping  the  English  tea  into  Boston  Harbor — 
the  knaves!" 

"Zounds !"  exclaimed  Mr.  Bombs.  "That  was 
a  steep  proceeding.  How  high  do  you  suppose  it 
will  climb?" 

"K.  K.,"  replied  Schwarmer.  "Probably  until 
the  attention  is  called  off  by  some  new  thing — 
very  new  and  of  more  dazzling  proportions — like 
those  new  inventions  of  yours — for  instance." 

"I  understand!  Good!  Good!  Nero  is  himself 
again.  The  siege  of  Yorktown!  The  Battle  of 
Gettysburg !  and  Johnny  Bull's  Bellows  to  offset 
Pang's  Eagle  Screams!  Eh,  Schwramer!"  added 
Bombs  in  a  low  tone,  giving  him  a  sly  poke  in  the 
ribs ;  "and  money  made  out  of  them.  That's  bet- 
ter than  giving  away  things  to  an  ungrateful 
public.  They  can't  throw  Yorktown  into  the 
river  if  they  should  try.  You  are  a  trump, 
Schwarmer." 

That  ended  the  business  for  Schwarmer.  There 
was  nothing  that  pleased  him  better  than  being 
called  a  trump.  He  had  not  really  intended  to 
make  a  business  proposition ;  but  the  shrewd 
would-be  million-maker  and  son  of  a  million-maker 


A  Good  Celebration 

had  construed  it  into  that  meaning,  and  it  was  un- 
derstood to  be  an  unwritten  bargain  between  them. 

Thereupon  a  great  silence  fell  upon  the  spirit 
of  Alfonso  Bombs.  He  was  resting  in  rich  secur- 
ity— the  kind  of  security  he  liked.  The  $10,000,- 
000  that  for  a  few  brief  moments  seemed  jeopard- 
ized would  eventually  flow  into  the  great  Bombs' 
coffers  and  the  time  would  come  when  he  would  be 
more  envied  than  the  President  of  the  United 
States ;  and  his  old-time  victor  would  be  beaten 
back  to  the  place  from  whence  he  came. 

"Bah!"  the  thin  lips  parted  with  an  ironical 
smile,  and  the  word  of  contempt  came  very  near 
falling  out.  He  congratulated  himself  on  having 
checked  it  in  time,  for  turning  aside  he  saw  a  pair 
of  clear  but  rather  penetrating  eyes  looking 
directly  at  him,  and  a  gentle  voice  asked: 

"What  is  it  that  pleases  you  so  dreadfully,  Mr. 
Bombs?" 

It  was  the  voice  of  Adelaide  Schwarmer. 

"O!  Ah!  Beg  pardon,  Miss  Adelaide,"  said 
Mr.  Bombs,  in  the  flurried  way  which  was  usual 
with  him  when  she  asked  him  a  sudden  question, 
although  she  was  only  a  chit  of  a  girl,  barely  fif- 
teen years  of  age. 

"For  the  smile  or  the  style  of  it,  Mr.  Bombs?" 

"For  both  if  need  be;  but  where  did  you  come 
from  so  suddenly?  I  didn't  see  you  at  the  train." 

"No,  I  wasn't  there,  I  stopped  to  shake  paws 
with — guess  who?" 

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The  Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

"The  baker  or  candlestick-maker  or  some  stick- 
at-home  fellow.  Most  of  the  folks  seem  to  have 
gone  away." 

"No,  it  was  a  dog — Ruth  Cornwallis'  dog.  He's 
funny.  He  always  wants  to  shake  paws  with  me 
when  I  come.  I  haven't  been  here  in  two  years, 
but  he  was  on  hand  to  shake  all  the  same.  I  won- 
der why?" 

"Can't  say,  Miss  Adelaide.  All  I  know  is  that 
dogs  were  on  hand  to  bark  at  us  when  we  got 
off  from  the  train,  quite  a  number  of  them  and 
there  was  one  that  led  the  band." 

"I  wonder  if  it  was  Ruth's — he  came  running 
from  that  way.  How  did  he  look?" 

"Can't  say.  They  looked  so  much  alike;  but  I 
think  this  one  had  a  new  white  collar  on,  as  though 
there  had  been  a  wedding  in  the  family." 

"O  that's  the  one,  Mr.  Bombs.  I  wonder  what 
made  him  bark  at  you?" 

"None  but  a  dog  could  tell,  Miss  Adelaide,  and 
they  are  dumb." 

"I  wouldn't  blame  him  if  you  had  that  dreadful 
smile  on,  Mr.  Bombs." 

"It  wouldn't  do  any  good  to  blame  him  anyhow, 
Miss  Adelaide.  Dogs  know  what  they  are  about 
as  well  as  folks." 

"Don't  you  think  it  does  any  good  to  blame 
folks  when  they  do  wrong?" 

"Not  much,  not  much.  Sometimes  it  does  harm 
— almost  always  to  contrary  people." 


A  Good  Celebration 

"Well,  I'm  going  to  blame  them  any  way  every 
time  I  see  them  doing  anything  I  know  is  wrong 
after  this  and  take  the  chances.  I'll  be  fifteen 
years  old  tomorrow." 

"Better  put  it  off  until  you  are  of  age,  Miss 
Adelaide." 

"No,  I  will  not,  Mr.  Bombs.  You  needn't  smile 
that  smile — I'm  going  to  begin  tomorrow  at  the 
very  hour." 

They  walked  slowly  up  the  hill  while  the  rest  of 
the  party  dashed  by  them  in  the  Schwarmer  turn- 
outs ;  but  they  did  not  speak  to  each  other  again 
until  the  party  had  gathered  on  the  broad  veranda 
to  witness  the  evening's  entertainment. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

ALFONSO  BOMBS'  PYROTECHNICS  AND  ADELAIDE 
SCHWARMER'S  BLAME. 

R.  BOMBS  had  brought  with  him  some 
of  the  most  elaborate  and  artistic  works 
known  to  the  trade.  He  had  in  mind 
works  of  a  much  grander  and  more  in- 
structive nature — works  that  would  be  truly  great 
and  high  and  far  reaching  (so  he  said)  ;  works 
that  would  be  fit  for  the  greatest  king  on  earth 
to  look  at ;  that  would  startle  and  vivify  the  entire 
world  and  make  the  family  name  illustrious.  He 
had  been  collecting  material  for  his  works  through- 
out his  college  course — historical  events,  especial- 
ly the  burning  and  storming  of  cities  and  such  of 
the  battles  and  conflicts  as  lent  themselves  readily 
to  pyrotechnic  delineation.  He  was  busy  experi- 
menting with  his  material.  He  expected  to  have 
his  first  historical  piece  finished  by  this  time  next 
year,  and  he  was  happy  to  think  he  had  secured 
so  good  a  place  for  its  representation. 

126 


Alfonso   Bombs'   Pyrotechnics 

He  thought  the  people  of  the  town  would  like 
it — this  new  and  higher  development  of  pyrotech- 
nic art;  but  that  it  did  not  matter  much  whether 
they  liked  it  or  not.  There  would  be  a  big  crowd 
from  the  city  of  invited  guests  and  others,  for 
Schwarmer  would  be  in  it  heart  and  soul  as  well  as 
purse.  He  had  given  him  efficient  aid  in  getting 
his  pieces  ready  for  the  evening. 

"I  wonder  if  those  idiots  down  below  will  disdain 
to  watch  our  performance,"  asked  Bombs,  as  he 
was  about  to  begin. 

"Undoubtedly  not — that  is  after  they've 
spanked  the  children  and  sent  them  to  bed," 
laughed  Schwarmer.  "That's  the  extent  of  the 
moral  wave  with  that  sort  of  people.  It  generally 
stops  with  the  youngsters.  After  they  are  dis- 
posed of  they'll  sit  on  their  door  stones  until  the 
last  flare,  most  assuredly  they  will.  Shall  we  send 
a  searchlight  after  them?" 

"No !  no !  Schwarmer.  We  can't  afford  to  waste 
time  and  timber,  hunting  up  such  light-quenchers. 
We  can't  begin  any  lower  down  than  'mosaics'  if 
we  do  full  justice  to  'Tourbillions' — that  is  get  in 
all  the  inventions  and  improvements  which  I  have 
made  the  last  year." 

"Go  on,  then,  Alfonso.  Let's  have  the  improve- 
ments life-size  and  inventions  too,  all  of  them, 
though  the  heavens  should  fall  and  the  nearest 
stars  have  to  be  knocked  out,  so  to  speak?" 

"0  papa!  papa!"  exclaimed  Adelaide  in  a  tone 

127 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

of  reproach,  "true  stars  are  so  much  prettier  than 
manufactured  ones  can  possibly  be,  and  they  don't 
tire  anybody  to  death." 

Bombs  winced  but  he  went  about  his  mosaics 
and  was  soon  receiving  flattering  comments  and 
profuse  compliments  from  the  guests. 

"Allow  me  to  congratulate  you,  Mr.  Bombs," 
said  Miss  Drawling.  "Your  mosaics  are  truly 
splendid,  especially  the  designs  of  your  own  inven- 
tion. They  are  quite  beyond  the  artist's  dream.  I 
saw  a  great  many  pieces  of  mocaic  work  when  I 
visited  the  galleries  of  Greece  and  Rome.  They 
were  supposed  to  be  very  wonderful  but  commend 
yours  to  me." 

"Thanks  and  thanks  for  such  kindly  apprecia- 
tion," replied  Bombs,  bending  low  and  glancing 
aside  at  Adelaide.  She  had  not  retired,  and  was 
looking  as  though  she  were  trying  to  be  amused. 

"I  never  cared  much  for  mosaics,"  remarked 
Mrs.  Shannon — "the  real  ones.  They  are  so  small 
and  look  so  trifling  and  dull ;  but  yours  are  bright 
and  sizable  and  so  charmingly  changeable,  Mr. 
Bombs." 

Even  while  the  shower  of  compliments  was  in 
process  the  many  colored  pieces  gave  a  sudden  toss 
up  as  though  in  disdain  and  came  down  in  the  form 
of  letters — at  least  the  letters  were  there  dancing 
along  on  the  dusky  background  and  arranging 
themselves  into  words ;  and  the  words  were  "Wel- 
come to  Schwarmer  Hill!" 

128 


Alfonso   Bombs'   Pyrotechnics 

It  was  pronounced  "a  charming  welcome." 

"Written  in  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow  and 
without  the  tiresome  pen  and  ink,"  remarked  Miss 
Drawling.  It  was  a  surprise  even  to  the  Schwar- 
mers.  They  were  highly  delighted — at  least  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Schwarmer.  Miss  Adelaide  was  inhaling 
the  fragrance  of  a  rose  which  she  had  brought  in 
from  the  dewy  garden.  She  said  nothing;  but  the 
guests  were  enthusiastic  in  their  praises — espe- 
cially of  the  dexterity  which  had  been  displayed. 

"A  warm  welcome,  indeed,"  was  the  fiat  of  the 
college  bred  Miss  Hannibal — "written  in  letters  of 
fire ;  and  such  letters !  So  graceful  and  serpentine ! 
and  some  of  them  quite  new!  Your  own  invention 
or  modification  without  a  doubt.  Surely  I  have 
never  seen  anything  in  the  shape  of  letters  so  per- 
fectly unique!" 

After  the  fiery  welcome  there  was  a  fountain. 

"Guests  are  supposed  to  be  thirsty,"  remarked 
Dr.  Orison.  "That  was  a  happy  thought  of  yours, 
Mr.  Bombs." 

"And  you  must  have  patterned  it  after  the  fam- 
ous old  Italian  fountains,"  added  his  wife — "the 
royal  ones  that  were  filled  with  wines  of  all  kinds 
and  colors  and  sparkle  and  spirit  also.  You  are  a 
genius,  Mr.  Bombs." 

After  that  there  were  palm  trees  and  Highland 
tartans,  which  were  duly  praised  and  commented 
upon. 

Then  came  the  sun — the  last  of  the  fixed  fire- 

129 


The   Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

works.  Then  the  rotating  ones — the  firewheels 
and  finally  the  whole  solar  system.  After  this 
there  was  an  intermission  of  half  an  hour  during 
which  the  guests  were  regaled  with  rare  wines, 
cakes  and  cigars. 

Young  Bombs  shied  away  from  the  flattering 
spectators  and  went  over  to  the  secluded  corner 
where  Adelaide  was  sitting.  He  had  a  full  goblet  of 
wine  in  one  hand  and  a  choice  Havana  cigar  in  the 
other.  He  did  not  go  because  he  was  especially 
or  magnetically  drawn  or  wanted  her  society,  but 
because  he  wanted  no  society.  It  had  been  some- 
thing of  a  strain  on  his  nerves  to  see  that  every- 
thing went  off  right  and  was  effectively  and  har- 
moniously arranged,  and  the  end  was  not  yet.  He 
was  in  no  mood  to  listen  to  extravagant  praise, 
and  he  knew  where  he  would  not  get  it. 

Adelaide  still  had  the  rose  in  hand  and  was  en- 
joying its  beauty — bestowing  loving  looks  and 
lips  upon  it  as  well  and  inhaling  its  fragrance. 

"Nothing  but  a  rose,"  said  Bombs,  after  he  had 
seated  himself  leisurely  at  her  side  and  taken  a  sip 
of  wine. 

"Nothing  but  a  rose,"  repeated  Adelaide;  "but 
a  rose  is  a  great  deal,  Mr.  Bombs.  It  is  beauty? 
fragrance  and  color — soft  and  restful  color." 

"O !  I  understand.  I  know  you  don't  like  fire- 
works, nor  much  of  anything  as  yet — that  is  in 
the  line  of  human  invention." 

"I  like  human  inventions  but  I  don't  like  inhu- 

130 


Alfonso   Bombs'   Pyrotechnics 

man  ones  that  dazzle  my  eyes  out.  I  think  they 
would  make  me  stone  blind  if  I  had  to  look  at  them 
long  at  a  time." 

Mr.  Bombs  looked  at  her  fixedly  while  he  con- 
tinued to  sip  the  wine.  He  noticed  for  the  first 
time  that  her  eyes  were  of  the  palest  blue  and  her 
hair  of  the  palest  gold  and  wondered  if  there  was 
anything  in  her  physical  makeup  that  made  it  nat- 
urally antagonistic  to  fiery  display.  "Did  the 
doves  hate  fireworks  and  did  the  serpents  like 
them?"  was  the  question  he  asked  himself. 

"Perhaps  you  will  like  my  new  piece  better,"  he 
remarked  after  he  had  finished  the  wine."  "Tour- 
billions  are  a  higher  form  of  Pyro." 

"When  is  your  new  piece  going  to  be  spoken?" 
laughed  Adelaide. 

"At  the  end,  of  course.  You  hadn't  better  retire 
— it  might  wake  you  up.  It  will  be  huge,  Miss 
Adelaide." 

"The  bigger  they  are  the  more  I  don't  like  them, 
Mr.  Bombs.  The  little  ones  tire  me  and  the  big 
ones  scare  me.  You  know  how  I  screamed  when 
that  horrid  London  Pyro-King  sent  off  his  biggest 
rockets.  They  looked  so  dangerous — as  though  a 
terrible  comet  or  electric  storm  were  crashing  into 
the  earth  to  destroy  it.  Is  your  new  piece  dan- 
gerous, Mr.  Bombs?" 

"Not  very,  I  hope,"  Miss  Adelaide." 

"You  mean  that  it  is  a  little  dangerous,  Mr. 
Bombs.  Now  I  want  to  know  if  you  don't  think 

131 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

there  are  dangerous  things  enough  in  the  world 
without  inventing  any  more?" 

"I  think  you  are  mightily  like  old  Pythagoras, 
Miss  Adelaide." 

"Why  so,  Mr.  Bombs?" 

"He  was  said  to  be  an  'assiduous  questioner', 
Miss  Adelaide." 

That  ended  it.  He  lighted  his  cigar  and  went 
out  into  the  garden. 

Soon  afterwards  the  Tourbillions  began  to  as- 
cend; and  the  heavens,  at  least  that  portion  of 
them  that  belonged  to  Schwarmer  Hill,  was  soon 
filled  with  jets  and  coils  of  flame  and  stars  of 
many  magnitudes  and  colors.  The  spectators  ap- 
peared to  be  highly  delighted — all  except  Ade- 
laide. She  was  growing  tired.  Her  eyes  burned, 
her  head  ached  and  she  was  thinking  of  going  to 
her  room,  when  suddenly  the  sky  cleared  and  she 
heard  the  voice  of  Bombs  announcing  the  closing 
piece — "his  new  contribution  to  Pyrotechnic  art." 

He  said  among  other  things  that  he  had  invent- 
ed the  piece  especially  for  this  occasion ;  that  it 
had  as  yet  no  name;  that  he  had  left  it  for  the 
ladies  to  name — that  is,  if  it  proved  to  be  a  suc- 
cess, or  materialized  as  he  expected  it  would. 
Otherwise  it  might  better  be  nameless ;  for  if  it 
were  mentioned  at  all  it  would  be  called  "The  light 
that  failed."  However  he  would  say  this  much  as 
to  its  composition  and  intention.  It  was  intended 
to  be  a  sort  of  cross  between  the  girandole  and  the 

132 


Alfonso   Bombs'   Pyrotechnics 

war-rocket.  The  girandole  proper  was  getting  to 
be  rather  monotonous,  having  been  used  as  the  end 
piece  to  pyro-spectacles  for  fifty  years  or  more. 
He  thought  it  was  high  time  to  have  a  new  one. 
It  was  also  necessary  that  the  new  one  should  be 
superior  to  the  old  one,  both  in  size  and  splendor  of 
coloring.  There  was  no  such  thing  as  going  back- 
ward in  this  matter.  We  might  as  well  talk  of  the 
decadence  of  American  institutions  or  the  annihil- 
ation of  "The  Fourth  of  July." 

"As  to  its  composition,"  continued  Bombs,  "I 
think  you  will  believe  after  you  have  seen  it,  that 
it  was  no  sh'ght  thing  to  get  up  a  piece  of  this 
kind — so  many  points  had  to  be  considered.  As 
an  example  there  was  the  one  thing  of  garniture. 
The  ladies  will  appreciate  this  very  readily.  If  I 
mistake  not,  a  lady  would  think  a  week  spent  in 
selecting  the  proper  trimmings  for  her  dress  was  a 
long  time.  What  then  would  she  say  if  I  told  her 
that  I  spent  two  months  selecting  the  most  effect- 
ive garniture  for  my  piece — two  months  to  get  it 
entirely  out  of  the  region  of  commonness — the  re- 
gion of  gold  and  silver  rain  and  of  the  'Peacock's 
Tail !'  "  The  ladies  waved  their  fans  and  clapped 
their  hands,  during  which  commotion  Mr.  Bombs 
disappeared  from  view. 

While  Adelaide  was  wondering  where  he  had 
gone  to  so  suddenly,  a  huge  stream  of  serpentine 
fire  issued  from  the  Engine  House.  It  grew  larger 
and  larger  every  moment.  It  lifted  itself  into  mon- 

133 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

strous  coils.  It  hissed  and  sent  forth  tongues  of 
flame.  It  vomited  forth  all  sorts  of  hideous 
shapes,  in  all  sorts  of  lurid  colors,  ever  increasing 
in  size  and  horror  until  no  more  could  be  conceived 
— then  there  was  a  loud  report  and  a  great  globe 
of  fire  plunged  downward  and  disappeared  behind 
the  brow  of  the  hill! 

The  gentlemen  applauded.  Bombs  had  said  in 
the  beginning  that  the  piece  was  a  cross  between 
a  war  rocket  and  a  girandole  and  they  supposed 
that  the  report  and  the  ball  of  fire  was  the  war 
part  of  it,  but  Adelaide  knew  that  it  was  an  acci- 
dent and  she  thought  of  the  gardener's  cottage 
with  a  thrill  of  fear. 

A  moment  afterwards  a  sheet  of  light  and  flame 
came  streaming  up  from  that  direction,  a  woman's 
voice  cried  "Fire !  Fire !"  and  a  woman's  form  clad 
in  white  appeared  on  the  fiery  background.  The 
spectators  were  startled  for  the  moment ;  then  they 
broke  out  in  wild  applause. 

Dr.  Orison  said  "It  is  ever  thus  after  war." 

The  woman  was  standing  still  with  her  arms 
twisted  about  her  body,  as  though  in  mortal  agony. 
They  thought  she  was  there  advisedly  to  represent 
the  realistic  finishing  of  Mr.  Bombs'  piece.  But 
they  were  soon  undeceived.  Another  cry  rent  the  air. 

"It's  Mary,  the  gardener's  wife!  Help!  help! 
Her  house  must  be  on  fire." 

It  was  the  cry  of  Adelaide  Schwarmer  as  she  ran 
to  her  assistance. 

134 


"FIRE,  FIRE  !"  CRIED  A  VOICE. 


Alfonso   Bombs'  Pyrotechnics 

"O  my  baby!  My  baby!"  moaned  the  poor  wo- 
man stumbling  along  toward  her. 

"Where  is  it,  where?"  asked  Adelaide. 

"Lost !  Lost !"  she  cried,  sinking  down  in  a  dead 
faint. 

Mrs.  Schwarmer  divined  the  situation  and  was 
soon  at  her  side.  She  threw  her  magnificent  shawl 
over  the  prostrate  figure.  Her  husband  was  sent 
for.  He  was  in  the  kitchen  helping  the  servants. 
They  came  and  carried  her  in.  Dr.  Orison  offered 
his  services  and  the  rest  of  the  men  hastened  to  the 
fire ;  but  a  stream  of  water  was  pouring  down  on  it 
from  the  Engine  House  and  their  aid  was  not 
needed.  They  returned  and  reported  that  "the 
fire  was  a  trifling  affair." 

"But  where  is  her  baby!"  asked  Adelaide.  "She 
said  she  had  lost  her  baby.  We  must  find  it  for 
her." 

"Adelaide,"  said  her  mother  sternly,  "go  to 
your  room  at  once.  It  is  not  proper  for  you  to  ask 
questions  about  such  matters.  Your  father  and 
Mr.  Bombs  will  make  whatever  search  the  doctor 
thinks  necessary." 

Half  an  hour  afterwards  Dr.  Orison  returned 
to  the  guests  and  reported  the  woman  to  be  out 
of  danger.  His  silence  with  regard  to  the  baby 
was  understood  to  mean  that  it  had  never  lived  and 
that  it  was  a  matter  of  no  earthly  consequence. 

A  matter  of  much  greater  interest  to  one  and 
all  of  the  gay  people  assembled  there,  appeared  to 

135 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

be  Mr.  Bombs'  ingenious  explanation  with  regard 
to  the  failure  of  his  piece  and  his  prompt  action 
in  turning  on  the  hose  for  the  quenching  of  the 
fire — for  the  last  of  which  he  received  many  com- 
pliments. 

On  the  contrary  Adelaide  could  think  of  noth- 
ing but  the  gardener's  wife  and  her  lost  baby. 
She  could  not  sleep.  She  was  in  an  agony  of  sus- 
pense— to  know  how  it  had  fared  with  them.  She 
thought  the  guests  would  talk  it  over  at  the  break- 
fast table;  but  she  was  mistaken.  Not  a  word 
was  said  about  it  and  all  seemed  as  lively  as 
though  nothing  at  all  had  happened.  She  did  not 
dare  to  ask  them  any  questions  on  the  subject  af- 
ter her  mother's  rebuke,  but  she  knew  she  could 
ask  her  father.  She  saw  him  out  on  the  hill  and 
ran  after  him. 

"Mary!  poor  Mary!  how  is  she,  father?"  she 
gasped  out. 

"O!  she's  all  right  Addie,  only  a  little  scare. 
She'll  be  all  right  again  in  a  few  days  the  doctor 
says." 

"And  the  baby.    Did  you  find  the  baby?" 

"Yes  we  found  it,  Addie,  and  took  it  to  her. 
Bombs  found  it  just  over  there  by  that  clump  of 
milkweeds — but  it  wasn't  much  of  a  find — most 
assuredly  it  wasn't.  It  was  dead  of  course;  and 
I  guess  it  was  a  Providence  for  they've  got  two 
little  tots  now  and  they're  not  very  forehand- 
ed. If  they  kept  on  at  that  rate  they'll  have  a 

136 


Alfonso   Bombs'   Pyrotechnics 

swarm  of  them  soon,  and  I  shall  have  to  turn  them 
off." 

"O  don't  say  that!  It's  dreadful.  She  loved 
her  baby  and  she  was  in  such  agony  when  she  lost 
it !  O  I  never  saw  such  agony !  You  must  not  turn 
them  off — never,  never.  It  would  be  wrong, 
I  know  it  would  after  this  awful  fright!  We 
ought  to  give  them  something  to  make  up  for  it. 
I  know  we  had,  father!  I  know  it!  And  I'm  go- 
ing to  give  her  all  I  have  got  in  my  purse  and  I 
shall  remember  her  as  long  as  I  live !" 

"Softly  Addie !  Softly !  Don't  let  any  of  the 
gentry  over  there  hear  you.  They'd  think  you 
were  crazy.  We'll  fix  it  between  ourselves — we 
won't  be  hard  on  them  if  they  do  have  a  big  swarm. 
We'll  see  that  they  don't  starve.  Most  assuredly 
we  will." 

"They  ought  to  have  good  big  wages.  They 
make  the  flowers  grow  so  beautifully." 

"Yes  Addie  the  flowers  are  all  right ;  but  where's 
the  lawn,  the  green  velvet  lawn  that  your  mamma 
raves  about  so  much.  The  grass  can't  grow  with 
so  many  little  feet  trotting  over  it." 

"But  little  feet  are  of  more  consequence  than 
grass,  you  know  they  are,  only  you  don't  stop  to 
think.  And  little  children  are  better  than  fire- 
works. I  wish  all  the  ugly  old  fireworks  were  at 
the  bottom  of  the  sea.  You  ought  not  to  have  let 
Mr.  Bombs  send  off  his  piece  over  the  gardener's 
house." 

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The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

He  had  not  told  her  about  the  fireworks  that 
were  at  the  bottom  of  the  river  and  he  hated  the 
idea  of  doing  so.  He  turned  away  and  she  went 
to  the  engine  house.  Bombs  was  there.  She  was 
going  to  blame  him  for  what  had  happened — that 
is  all  that  he  deserved  to  be. 

"Was  your  piece  more  dangerous  than  you 
thought,  Mr.  Bombs?" 

"Well,  rather,  Miss  Adelaide — that  is  I  didn't 
expect  it  was  going  to  burst  up — or  down  I  should 
say." 

"But  you  knew  it  was  dangerous  enough  to  set 
things  on  fire  if  it  did  burst  and  strike  them,  Mr. 
Bombs." 

"Yes,  Miss,  I  knew  enough  for  that." 

"Then  you  are  to  blame  for  sending  it  off  where 
you  did,  Mr.  Bombs,  and  father  is  to  blame  for  let- 
ting you  do  it.  I  have  just  told  him  so." 

"There  was  no  other  place — that  is  handy — 
where  the  ladies  could  see  it  and  be  comfortably 
seated,  Miss  Adelaide." 

"Then  there  ought  to  have  been  a  place  made, 
Mr.  Bombs,  and  if  there  couldn't  have  been,  then 
you  ought  not  to  have  sent  it  off  at  all.  You  know 
you  had  not,  and  I  shall  always  blame  you  for  it. 
It  was  very,  very  wrong." 

"I  see!"  laughed  Bombs.  "You  are  on  your 
blaming  expedition  this  morning,  Miss  Adelaide. 
You  are  right  about  having  a  place  made,  though. 
There  ought  to  be  for  large  works;  and  when  I 

138 


Alfonso  Bombs'   Pyrotechnics 

get  my  historical  piece  done  there  will  be  a  place 
on  purpose  for  it — a  large  place — a  sort  of  a 
grand  amphitheatre  something  like  the  old  Roman 
but  Americanized  and  more  enjoyable.  That's 
my  ambition.  I  have  got  through  even  with  tour- 
billions." 


139 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

SCHWARMER'S  THEATENED  ARREST. 

R.  SCHWARMER  was  a  man  who  talked 
very  bluntly,  so  he  admitted,  but  he  ex- 
pected to  give  his  hearers  the  impres- 
sion that  his  bluntness  was  simply  a  spe- 
cies of  noble  frankness.  The  next  day  but  one  af- 
ter Independence  Day,  he  informed  the  few  ac- 
quaintances whom  he  happened  to  meet  at  the  de- 
pot, that  he  was  obliged  to  return  to  the  city  at 
once  for  two  reasons.  The  first  was  a  rise  in 
stocks  and  the  second  was  to  see  his  family  off  on 
the  steamer,  but  that  he  would  return  on  the  fif- 
teenth of  the  month  and  arrest  and  punish  the 
chief  leaders  in  the  plot  which  had  resulted  in  the 
destruction  of  his  property. 

For  once  or  rather  for  the  first  time  in  his  deal- 
ings with  the  Killsbury  community,  his  bluntness 
was  taken  literally  and  turned  to  good  account.  A 
mass  meeting  was  not  called  but  there  was  a  great 
deal  of  calling  and  consulting  among  the  women 
of  the  town.  Ruth  Cornwallis  Norwood  was  very 
busy  during  the  interval  of  expectancy.  She  set 

140 


Schwarmer's  Threatened  Arrest 

her  own  wits  to  work  and  inspired  others  to  do  the 
same.  The  result  was  that  rather  a  novel  plan  was 
proposed — "So  novel  that  it  was  funny,"  said  the 
President's  wife;  but  the  more  they  talked  and 
laughed  about  it,  the  more  they  thought  they 
would  try  it.  They  assumed  to  begin,  with  that 
they  instead  of  their  husbands  were  the  chief 
leaders  or  instigators  in  the  destruction  of  the 
Schwarmer  property.  Ruth  was  duly  charged  with 
and  promptly  confessed  being  at  the  head  of  the 
whole  affair.  Therefore  it  was  resolved  that  when 
the  dread  day  came  and  the  dread  form  of  Mil- 
lionaire Schwarmer  was  apparent  on  the  Hill,  they 
would  not  wait  to  be  arrested.  They  would  call  on 
him  in  a  body  and  deliver  themselves  up.  They 
reasoned  that  it  would  be  a  pity  to  put  him  to  the 
trouble  of  arresting  them  singly ;  besides  it  would 
be  a  great  expense  to  the  town.  They  supposed 
that  the  citizens  of  the  town  would  have  to  pay  for 
all  the  arrests  and  they  felt  sure  that  thfiy  could- 
n't afford  to — or  at  least  that  they  had  a  right  to 
cut  down  their  own  expenses  wherever  they  chose. 
They  had  other  ideas  in  their  heads  also.  Some 
of  them  could  make  speeches  and  delivering  them- 
selves up  to  Mr.  Schwarmer  gave  them  a  chance. 

In  an  interview  with  President  Hartling,  he 
said: 

"I  agree  with  you.  There's  many  a  truth  spok- 
en in  jest  and  my  opinion  is  that  women  excel  in 
this  direction." 

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The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

Then  he  stopped  and  hummed  a  tune  that 
wound  up  with  the  words : 

"I  believe  in  all  the  people 

"Tis  through  them  we  shall  be  blest." 

"Yes,"  he  added,  "  I  believe  especially  in  the 
women  people  and  my  impression  is  that  the  wo- 
men of  this  town  can  settle  this  business  with 
Schwarmer.  You  know  what  the  town  needs  and 
what  he  has  always  been  promising  it.  After  the 
arrests  are  settled  you  might  extend  your  wits  and 
get  him  to  'fork  over'  as  the  boys  say.  I  can't  tell 
you  just  how  to  do  it.  I  don't  like  the  bossing 
business  and  I'm  sure  you  will  know  how  to  act 
better  than  I  can  tell  you.  The  work  of  the  Com- 
mon Council  is  to  get  their  ordinance  in  good 
working  order  before  the  next  Independence  Day 
comes.  Father  Ferrill's  miracle  and  the  appeal 
brought  us  through  safely  this  year.  The  educa- 
tional and  moral  waves  which  are  the  only  true 
preparation  for  good  laws  were  set  in  motion ;  but 
something  more  may  be  required  next  year  for  the 
scourging  of  the  money-changers.  There  are 
signs  in  the  air  that  prohibitory  measures  will 
have  to  be  resorted  to. 

"Schwarmer's  determination  to  distribute  fire- 
works in  spite  of  the  appeal  is  a  sign,"  said  Ralph. 
He  repeated  the  whole  story,  not  even  leaving  out 
Ruth's  experience  with  Mr.  Schwarmer  in  the 
matter. 

"I  see,"  said  the  President.     "Many  kinds  of 

142 


Schwarmer's  Threatened  Arrest 

effort  will  have  to  be  made  to  squelch  this  many- 
headed  monster.  More  and  more  laws  may  be 
called  for  but  it  makes  me  sad  to  think  of  it.  I 
am  prejudiced  against  law — its  autocracy,  its  in- 
sulting enforcements,  its  perplexing  entangle- 
ments. As  to  celebrations  when  they  grow  to  be 
such  dangerous  nuisances  as  to  require  the  inter- 
ference of  law  to  any  great  extent,  it  is  a  sure  sign 
that  they  ought  to  be  done  away  with." 

"How  I  wish  this  savage  old  Fourth  which  is  so 
full  of  boasting  and  danger,  could  be  done  away 
with !"  said  Ruth.  "It  will  be  so  hard  to  make  it  en- 
tirely harmless — especially  for  the  children — the 
little  innocent  children  who  are  born  into  the  world 
so  helpless,  and  have  to  live  in  it  so  many  years  be- 
fore they  can  learn  how  to  avoid  its  dangers — the 
simple  every  day  dangers,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
complex  and  deadly  ones  that  lie  concealed  beneath 
attractive  forms.  Who  have  to  be  taught,  denied, 
imprisoned  and  punished  every  step  of  the  way  al- 
most. O  what  a  task  for  loving  parents !" 

"And  what  a  shame,"  said  Ralph,  "that  people 
should  go  on  inventing  and  manufacturing  more 
and  more  of  those  horrible  things  and  almost  forc- 
ing them  onto  the  community  and  into  children's 
hands !  What  can  we  do  about  that  ?" 

"There's  a  place  for  strong  prohibitory  laws 
and  a  call  for  the  enforcement  of  those  we  have. 
Appeals  are  all  right  for  sensible  grown-up  Amer- 
ican citizens;  but  the  young  and  innocent  should 

143 


The   Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

not  be  permitted  to  walk  into  the  fire,  the  idiotic 
and  mercenary  should  not  be  allowed  to  furnish 
the  fire  for  them  to  walk  into,  and  the  devil's  imps 
should  be  prohibited  from  pushing  them  into  it. 
Yes  this  is  a  good  place  for  prohibition.  Prohi- 
bition that  does  prohibit — not  as  it  now  stands.  I 
believe  that  the  whole  system  will  have  to  be  over- 
hauled to  make  it  largely  effective.  That  the  gen- 
eral government  will  have  to  take  it  in  hand  and 
appoint  earnest  ununiformed  watchers  for  all  per- 
ilous times  and  places." 

"O  that  would  be  splendid,"  cried  Ruth— "like 
having  guardian  angels,  invisible  but  earthly,  for 
the  young  and  innocent !" 

"They  are  not  here  yet,  dear,"  laughed  Ralph, 
"except  for  the  President  of  the  United  States  and 
others  in  authority,  but  I'm  sure  they  are  needed. 
It's  a  sorry  spectacle  to  see  the  small  boy  dodging 
the  policeman  and  the  hoodlum  intimidating  him 
with  stones.  I  am  glad  we  did  not  have  a  prohib- 
itive notice  on  that  account,  besides  Schwarmer's 
hand  would  not  have  shown  up  so  plainly." 

"And  so  am  I,"  said  Ruth.  Then  she  thought 
of  the  hand  that  had  tried  to  pat  her  shoulder  and 
blushed  while  Ralph  grated  his  teeth  and  the 
President  said  in  a  serious  voice: 

"And  I  was  just  beginning  to  be  sorry  that  we 
did  not  accept  Dr.  Normander's  wise  prohibition 
to  back  the  appeal  since  I  perceive  that  lack  of  it 
has  caused  you  needless  trouble,  insult  and  expense." 

144 


Schwarmer's  Threatened  Arrest 

"O  we  did  not  care  about  that,  our  hearts  and 
souls  were  in  it,"  said  Ruth  and  Ralph  in  chorus. 

"But  I  care  about  it.  It  was  not  right.  I  per- 
ceive it  would  grow  to  be  a  grievous  burden,  it 
must  not  go  on,"  he  added  in  a  pre-occupied  way 
as  though  speaking  to  himself.  "Providence  has 
helped  me  through  this  time  but  I  almost  know  He 
would  not  do  it  again.  He  has  shown  me  the  way. 
I  will  strive  to  walk  in  it.  There  are  many  lights 
by  the  way.  I  believe  they  are  all  essential  and 
will  be  suffused  at  last  into  the  one  great  light — 
the  eternal  verity." 

A  moment  later  Dr.  Normander  came  in. 

"You  are  just  in  time,  Doctor.  I  was  going 
over  to  confess  that  your  way  was  better  than 
mine;  or  that  my  appeal  needed  your  prohibitive 
crutch.  Why  didn't  you  argue  me  down — down 
to  the  practical  level  at  least?  They  call  me  a 
Golden  Rule  Man,  but  I  am  only  a  President — a 
figure-head,  a  blundering  mortal  and  too  much 
afraid  of  having  more  laws  than  are  necessary, 
or  than  will  be  obeyed  without  hatred  and  strife." 

"Because  I  am  prejudiced  in  favor  of  the  lov- 
ing appeal — the  higher  way,  I  suppose,"  laughed 
Dr.  Normander. 

"But  you  did  not  propose  it,  Doctor.  Did  you 
think  that  the  higher  way — the  way  of  appeal, 
was  too  high  to  be  largely  operative?"' 

"Yes,  I  could  hardly  help  thinking  that,  for  I 
have  been  preaching  it  for  years ;  but  I  had  a 

145 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

glimpse  of  the  immediate  good  that  a  wise  prohi- 
bition might  do." 

"And  the  one  you  proposed  covered  Schwarmer 
very  neatly,  I  noticed,"  laughed  the  President, 
"but  I  don't  remember  the  exact  wording." 

"It  was  not  reduced  to  legal  form  but  the  idea 
was  to  prohibit  the  sale  and  giving  away  of  all 
the  dangerous  Independence  Day  Fireworks," 
said  Dr.  Normander. 

"That  will  help,  and  we  will  have  it  put  in 
legal  phrase  and  made  ready  for  use  without  de- 
lay; for  I  begin  to  think  that  Schwarmer  is  not 
to  be  trusted  in  this  matter.  He  may  need  as  many 
as  two  or  three  chains  to  hold  him,  that  is,  unless 
some  sort  of  miraculous  conversion  overtakes  him. 
You  know  miracles  do  happen  now  and  then,  Doc- 
tor, and  I  am  rather  expecting  one  from  The  Wo- 
man's Educational  or  Missionary  Department  be- 
fore the  next  Independence  Day  begins,"  laughed 
the  President.  "There  is  no  greater  pest  to  so- 
ciety than  a  millionaire  idiot,  and  there  is  no  bet- 
ter way  to  get  him  to  use  his  money  rightly  than  to 
hand  him  over  to  the  best  women  of  society." 

"One  more  question  before  we  are  arrested,  or 
arrest  ourselves,"  laughed  Ruth. 

"Can  a  law  be  made  to  prohibit  Schwarmer  or 
his  guests  from  showering  rockets  on  the  town?" 

" After  he  is  through  with  the  arresting  busi- 
ness, we  will  see  about  the  showering,"  replied  the 
President.  "I  fancy  he  will  not  be  so  much  enam- 

146 


Schwarmer's  Threatened  Arrest 

ored  after  that,  with  fiery  showers  as  with  those  of 
a  gentler  kind,  and  really  I  don't  know  as  any  laws 
could  be  made  to  prevent  a  man  from  having  fire- 
works on  his  own  premises,  but  he  could  be  arrested 
for  damages  to  the  property  or  persons  of  others." 

"But  we  want  him  arrested  from  doing  dam- 
ages and  burning  up  money,"  said  Ruth. 

"Then  I  believe  you  women  will  have  to  do  it," 
laughed  the  President.  "The  law  isn't  premature 
enough.  However  if  you  fail  I  will  study  it  up 
and  see  what  it  will  do.  I  think  the  way  is  being 
prepared  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  by  the  Yale 
graduate  who  is  dying  at  the  house  of  a  million- 
aire, from  an  injury  received  by  a  flying  rocket." 


147 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    KILL.SBURY   WOMEN    ARREST    THEMSELVES. 

ON  the  fifteenth  of  July  Schwarmer  came 
as  he  was  expected  to  do ;  for  besides  be- 
ing a  blunt  man,  he  was  known  to  be 
one  who  rarely  broke  his  promise.     He 
arrived  on  the  morning  train  and  in  the  afternoon 
while  he  was  sitting  in  his  beautiful  office  with  the 
Golden  Rule  President  on  one  side  of  him  and.  Law- 
yer Rattlinger  on  the  other,  the  door  opened  sud- 
denly and  disclosed  a  very  pretty  sight — namely 
a    procession    of    ladies    tastefully    hatted    and 
gowned.     The  ribbons  which  were  fastened  dainti- 
ly on  their  shoulders  fluttered  like  wings  in  the 
strong  breeze  caused  by  the  opening  of  the  door. 
He   had   been   informed   that   a   delegation   of 
ladies  would  do  themselves  the  honor  of  calling 
upon  him  to  ask  a  favor,  the  nature  of  which  was 
not  apparent,  so  he  arose  to  his  feet  at  once,  with 
his  broad  smile  and  blunt  speech. 

"Bless  you  ladies !  Really  ladies !  This  is  a 
great  and  unexpected  surprise.  A  truly  great 
and  truly  happy  one.  Bless  you  all.  How  love- 

148 


The  Killsbury  Women  Arrest  Themselves 

ly  you  look.  You  do  me  proud,  most  assuredly 
you  do.  Ask  me  any  faver  you  choose.  I  almost 
know  what  it  will  be  before  you  open  your  pretty 
lips — pardon  or  excuses  for  your  husbands  or  sons 
for  the  destruction  of  my  property.  Ladies  are 
always  doing  something  of  that  kind,  God  bless 
them!  I  feel  like  accepting  even  before  you  ask 
me  to,  most  assuredly  I  do.  I  know  it  wasn't  your 
fault.  I  know  ladies  don't  approve  of  such  vio- 
lent doings  or  go  into  them,  unless  dragged  in  by 
their  husbands  or  sweethearts.  I  understand  that. 
I  shouldn't  be  my  mother's  son  if  I  didn't,  ladies. 
You  may  make  your  requests  without  fear  or  trem- 
bling. I  am  blunt  in  my  speech  but  I  trust  my 
treatment  of  ladies  is  exactly  the  reverse." 

The  lawyer  winked  at  the  President  as  much  as 
to  say  that  exactly  the  reverse  of  blunt  would  be 
sharp;  but  his  wife  was  among  the  crowd  and  as 
she  was  a  lady  who  laughed  easily  he  felt  obliged 
to  keep  his  countenance  of  the  usual  length. 

"The  ladies,  God  bless  them,"  Schwarmer  con- 
tinued in  his  closing  peroration.  "They  are  all 
angels — all  except  those  that  are  very  strongly 
tempted  to  be  the  reverse." 

The  President's  wife  laughed  this  time  in  spite 
of  her  husband's  long  drawn  face.  Several  oth- 
ers caught  the  infection.  No  knowing  where  it 
would  have  ended  had  not  Mr.  Schwarmer  sat 
down  suddenly.  They  knew  that  their  time  had 
come  and  the  thought  sobered  them. 

149 


The  Independence   Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

Mrs.  Muelenberg  was  the  first  to  speak.  She 
said: 

"We  know  you  are  very  kind,  Mr.  Schwarmer, 
and  we  have  come  to  make  our  confessions  and  ask 
you  for  substantial  proofs  of  your  kindness.  We 
all  had  a  hand  in  the  destruction  of  your  proper- 
ty— a  free  hand,  and  we  are  going  to  tell  you  why 
and  pay  the  damages.  We  are  averse  to  the  tech- 
nicalities, expense  and  delay  of  the  law,  so  after 
we  have  made  our  plea — that  is,  all  the  plea  we 
can  make,  we  trust  that  you  will  make  out  your 
bill.  We  have  brought  our  purses  and  wish  to 
settle  the  damages  on  the  spot." 

"Damages  against  the  ladies !"  gasped  Schwar- 
mer, looking  with  dismay  at  the  purses  conspicu- 
ously displayed.  "My  intention  is  to  settle  this 
little  matter  with  the  men  who  had  a  hand  in  it. 
I  don't  want  any  pay  for  my  property,  dear 
ladies.  Rest  assured  I  am  not  that  sort  of  a  man. 
All  that  I  shall  insist  upon  is  to  have  the  law  re- 
spected— the  rights  of  property  regarded." 

"And  all  that  we  shall  insist  on,  if  it  goes  to  the 
courts,  is  that  the  rights  of  mothers  be  respected 
and  the  lives  of  their  children  properly  regarded," 
said  Mrs.  Rattlinger.  "I  am  not  a  lawyer  but  I 
am  a  lawyer's  wife  and  I  think  I  know  about  where 
we  should  stand  in  such  a  case." 

"Of  course  you  do,"  replied  Schwarmer,  "and 
being  a  wife  and  mother,  very  naturally  you 
would,  as  one  and  all  thus  situated.  I  shall  see 

150 


The  Killsbury  Women  Arrest  Themselves 

to  it  that  no  harm  comes  to  you,  rest  assured  I 
shall.  I  have  an  almost  unbounded  respect  for 
mothers  and  a  great  tenderness  for  children  and 
would  be  more  than  willing  to  do  all  I  could  to  pre- 
vent them  from  injury  on  our  natal  day,  without  in- 
terfering with  its  proper  enjoyment, most  assuredly 
I  would.  I  am  very  fond  of  them  all.  I  lament 
with  our  lamentable  President  that  there  are  not 
more  mothers  and  more  children.  There  can't  be 
too  many  of  them  to  suit  me.  It  takes  a  great 
many  to  keep  up  the  supply,  as  they  are  more 
prone  to  accidents  than  grown  people,  especially 
on  and  around  our  glorious  Fourth — for  the  rea- 
son that  their  little  hands  and  pockets  which  pa- 
triotism requires  us  to  fill  with  firecrackers,  are 
so  much  nearer  their  little  eyes  than  ours  are. 
Most  assuredly  they  are.  For  these  and  other  rea- 
sons of  a  similar  nature,  there  can't  be  too  many 
children  born  into  the  world.  They  make  it  live- 
ly. Truly,  ladies,  I  am  a  very  blunt  man  and  I 
must  say  that  I  think  mothers  should  have  many 
more  children  than  they  do  have.  Yes,  a  great 
many  more  and  be  happy  to  do  so.  Very  happy 
indeed,  ladies.  There  is  no  sight  on  earth  so  per- 
fectly lovely  in  my  estimation  as  that  of  a  moth- 
er surrounded  with  her  children.  Completely  sur- 
rounded I  should  say — north  and  south,  east  and 
west — surrounded  as  with  a  halo,  so  to  speak." 

Schwarmer's  pronunciation  of  halo  sounded  so 
much  like  hello  that  Sybil  Bolt,  whose  little  boy 

151 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

had  lost  a  finger  three  years  before,  in  consequence 
of  his  Independence  Day  gift,  whispered  to  the 
woman  who  stood  next  to  her: 

"Yes  a  fine  hello — young  ones  with  their  fingers 
blown  off,  eyes  blown  out,  and  faces  scarred." 

She  whispered  loud  enough  to  be  heard  across 
the  room  and  Schwarmer  may  or  may  not  have 
heard  her.  He  continued: 

"Don't  be  alarmed,  my  dear  ladies.  I  wouldn't 
have  the  heart  to  hurt  a  hair  of  your  heads,  nor 
a  hair  that  belonged  to  your  children.  Be  assured 
I  shall  lay  up  nothing  against  you,  and  I'm  not 
going  to  be  hard  with  your  husbands  and  lovers 
either,  rest  assured  I  am  not.  Go  in  peace." 

He  waved  his  hand  as  though  waving  them  out ; 
but  they  did  not  "follow  the  wave." 

Mrs.  Normander  came  to  the  front  and  gave 
the  list  of  accidents  as  Ralph  had  done  at  the  mass 
meeting.  She  also  repeated  the  statement  that  the 
list  was  out  of  all  proportion  to  that  of  other 
towns  throughout  the  state.  Then  she  turned  up- 
on him  squarely. 

This  being  the  case  the  question  was,  why  it  was 
so?  "You  know  how  that  question  was  settled  at 
the  meeting,  Mr.  Schwarmer,  and  the  result." 

"Yes,  I  know,"  said  Schwarmer,  "that  my  pro- 
perty was  meddled  with  and  I  know  that  accidents 
occur  or  are  liable  to  occur  all  over  the  coun- 
try on  the  Fourth,  and  we  don't  know  where  they 
will  occur,  nor  how  many  will  occur  at  a  given 

152 


The   Killsbury  Women  Arrest  Themselves 

point,  most  assuredly  we  don't,  and  we  don't  know 
just  how  many  occur  in  our  own  town.  They  are 
not  always  reported,  or  made  much  of.  There  will 
be  accidents  on  that  day  as  a  matter  of  course, 
truly  there  always  have  been  and  must  be — it's  an 
accidental  world — full  of  accident  policies — eh, 
ladies  ?  The  Fourth  of  July  wouldn't  be  the  Fourth 
without  accidents,  surely  it  wouldn't,  would  it 
ladies?" 

"Yes  it  would,"  said  Mrs.  Normander.  "We 
have  had  one  this  year — a  lovely  Fourth.  We  all 
enjoyed  it — especially  the  children.  They  said 
they  had  never  had  such  a  splendid  Independence 
Day.  They  had  no  fireworks  and  not  a  single  one 
was  hurt.  We  heard  there  was  quite  a  serious  ac- 
cident at  your  place  where  you  had  an  elaborate 
pyrotechnic  display." 

"O!  a  small  one,  ladies,  a  very  small  one — truly 
very  small — not  worth  mentioning,  ladies." 

"Not  for  you,"  cried  out  a  voice  angrily;  "but 
for  the  poor  mother  who  lost  her  child!" 

She  broke  off  sobbing.  She  was  the  widow  whose 
little  boy  had  died  of  tetanus  a  few  years  before. 
The  ladies  all  knew  it  and  were  visibly  affected. 

"Beg  your  pardon,  dear  woman,"  said  Schwar- 
mer  fussing  with  his  pocket  handkerchief.  "Beg 
your  pardon,  one  and  all,  dear  ladies,  I  meant  no 
harm — no  insult  to  your  sex — most  assuredly  not. 
I'm  all  sympathy  for  any  one  in  a  delicate  condi- 
tion and  exceedingly  sorry  for  any  loss  they  may 

153 


The  Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

sustain  and  would  not  do  or  say  anything  willing- 
ly to  aggravate  the  one  or  the  other.  I  trust  you 
know  I  would  not.  You  know  also  that  accidents 
of  that  kind  do  happen  very  frequently,  and  with- 
out any  fright  from  pyrotechnics.  The  only  dam- 
age that  can  be  truly  chargeable  to  the  rocket, 
was  very  slight  indeed,  very — only  a  matter  of  a 
few  bundles  of  straw  and  an  old  tumble  down  shed. 
It  made  quite  a  blaze  of  course,  you  know  it  would 
ladies,  and  the  excitement  may  have  been  the  one 
straw  too  much  for  the  mother  delicately  situated 
but  there  is  no  real  proof  of  it — that  is,  no  abso- 
lute proof  you  understand  ladies.  I  mean  to  say 
that  something  else  might  have  happened  that 
would  have  led  to  the  same  disaster — something 
quite  trifling,  such  as  a  husband  coming  in  late 
and  slamming  the  door.  To  speak  bluntly  we  have 
all  heard  of  such  things  bringing  on  premature 
difficulties.  Truly  we  have,  have  we  not,  my  dear 
ladies?" 

"I  see,  I  see,  silence  gives  consent,"  continued 
Mr.  Schwarmer  quite  jauntily,  "and  I  know  you 
have  forgiven  me  any  little  hand  I  may  have  had 
in  the  matter — which  was  very  slight  indeed,  I  as- 
sure you.  The  pyrotechnics  referred  to  were  un- 
der the  auspices  of  a  much  greater  than  I — that 
is  pyrotechnically  considered.  No  less  a  person 
than  the  young  son  of  a  billionaire  friend  of  mine 
who  has  a  great  taste  for  pyrotechnics.  The  piece 
which  caused  the  premature  loss  referred  to  was 

154 


The  Killsbury  Women  Arrest  Themselves 

designed  by  him.  It  was  very  original  and  power- 
ful— most  assuredly  it  was — almost  too  powerful 
for  inland  display.  It  would  have  been  truly  gor- 
geous out  at  sea  or  off  Coney  Island  or  Manhat- 
tan Beach.  He's  a  great  genius,  the  young  fellow 
is,  and  an  aspiring  one  and  needs  a  great  deal  of 
room  to  display  his  talents,  as  all  geniuses  of  any 
size,  invariably  do.  When  he  was  abroad  he  was 
royally  entertained  by  the  greatest  of  living  Py- 
rotechnists, King  Pang,  whose  father  was  knight- 
ed by  the  queen  for  doing  something  splendid.  I 
have  forgotten  just  what  it  was.  By  the  way,  he 
made  a  very  good  pun  out  of  the  little  accident  he 
had  here,  after  he  got  back  to  the  city.  He  said  that 
his  'Pet  Rocket  rocked  the  cradle  prematurely' — 
or  attempted  to  rock  it,  or  something  of  the  kind. 
I  can't  quite  remember  which;  but  really  it  was 
very  good  and  characteristic  also.  He  always 
spoke  of  his  creations  as  though  they  were  live 
creatures  and  really  they  are  very  lively — very 
lively  indeed,  I  assure  you,  ladies." 

"They  are  fiends  in  disguise,"  exclaimed  Ruth 
rising  suddenly  and  lifting  the  rim  of  her  hat  so 
he  might  recognize  her  without  difficulty.  She 
had  managed  to  hide  herself  from  his  observation, 
she  hardly  knew  why.  She  had  a  mixed  sort  of  a 
feeling  that  she  would  like  to  see  him  let  himself 
entirely  out  and  that  he  would  be  more  likely  to 
do  so  if  he  did  not  know  she  were  there.  She  meant 
to  have  her  say.  She  had  come  prepared  for  it; 

155 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

but  she  would  not  say  a  word  until  her  whole  soul 
was  in  it  and  she  could  hold  back  no  longer.  She 
had  brought  the  spent  rocket  that  had  come  so 
near  killing  or  injuring  Ralph's  mother.  She  held 
it  up  so  everybody  could  see  it  plainly. 

"Yes,"  she  went  on  with  righteous  indignation. 
"They  are  fiends  in  disguise.  Here  is  one  of  them, 
with  its  pretty  red,  white  and  blue  wrapping  torn 
off.  Look  at  it  one  and  all.  It's  only  a  rough 
stick  and  a  lump  of  lead.  It  looks  dull  and  harm- 
less now  but  backed  by  powder  and  dynamite  it 
can  do  terrible  execution.  Look  at  it  Mr.  Schwar- 
mer.  It  was  sent  over  from  the  hill  on  last  Fourth 
and  came  within  a  hair  breadth  of  hitting  a  lady's 
shoulder!  If  it  had,  it  would  have  laid  her  arm 
open  to  the  bone,  for  it  dashed  down  the  whole 
length  of  it  and  buried  itself  in  the  ground.  What 
kind  of  a  pun  would  your  City  Pyro  King  have 
made  of  that?  What  does  he -care  for  the  homes 
made  desolate,  the  youths  that  are  slain  and  mu- 
tilated, this  son  of  a  millionaire,  so  that  he  adds 
more  millions  to  his  possessions?  What  does  he 
care  for  such  misery  as  I  have  suffered?  Every 
year  for  seven  years  I  had  to  be  taken  from  my 
home  and  sent  to  Canada  in  order  to  escape  our 
Independence  day  horror.  Every  year  since  the 
terrible  accident  to  my  little  brother.  You  all 
know  about  that.  I  was  only  eleven  years  old 
then.  I  did  not  fully  understand  what  the  Eng- 
lish officers  meant  when  they  said  'Very  sensitive 

156 


The   Killsbury  Women  Arrest  Themselves 

to  foreign  foes  Americans  are,  and  yet  they  arm 
the  home  foes  and  ignorant  boys  with  enough 
powder  and  dynamite  to  kill  and  wound  thousands 
every  year.'  'A  very  free  country  that  whose  peo- 
ple have  to  fly  to  Europe  or  to  us  for  safety.'  But 
it  dawned  on  me  little  by  little,  year  after  year. 
Last  year  I  saw  it  all.  This  year  I  am  here,  de- 
termined to  leave  no  stone  unturned  to  do  away 
with  the  cruel,  barberous  idiotic  celebration  of  our 
national  day. 

"Think  of  it,  Mr.  Schwarmer !  How  would  you 
feel  to  have  your  little  innocent  brother,  or  child, 
frightfully  scarred,  burned  or  torn  to  pieces  by 
fireworks  that  some  careless  person  had  put  into 
his  hands?  Take  it  to  your  heart  and  conscience. 
Remember,  we  do  not  assume  that  you  are  a  bad 
man  because  you  distribute  fireworks  among  the 
children  of  this  town.  We  know  you  don't  think 
when  you  give  a  lot  of  boys  a  lot  of  toy  pistols 
that  they  are  going  to  kill  or  injure  each  other 
with  them.  You  are  just  like  a  great  many  others. 
You  have  been  brought  up  to  think  it  right  for 
boys  to  celebrate  our  Independence  Day  and  you 
don't  stop  to  think  of  the  new  elements  of  danger 
which  have  been,  and  are  constantly  being  intro- 
duced. The  firecracker  and  the  torpedo  were  al- 
ways dangerous  nuisances  and  should  have  been 
done  away  with  long  ago  for  something  harmless 
and  more  sensible.  Instead  of  that  they  have  been 
developed  into  giants  and  are  now  manufactured 

157 


The  Independence   Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

in  enormous  quantities — enough  to  burn  up  the 
whole  world;  and  they  do  burn  up  millions  of  dol- 
lars worth  of  property  each  year. 

"Think  of  it !  It's  not  only  the  loss  of  life  that  is 
to  be  considered  but  it's  the  waste  of  money.  It's 
a  pity  to  see  it  recklessly  burned  up  when  we  are 
needing  so  many  things.  We  need  a  public  lib- 
rary. All  we  have  now  are  a  few  old  ragged 
books.  We  need  a  public  park,  where  the  children 
can  go  to  fly  their  kites,  look  at  the  gold  fishes, 
listen  to  the  music,  smell  of  the  flowers,  laugh, 
play  and  sing,  and  be  out  of  the  dust  and  danger 
of  the  crowded  thoroughfare.  We  need  good 
roads  and  bridges.  There  isn't  a  thoroughly 
good  road  in  town  except  the  speedway,  which  the 
corporation  helped  you  build  over  beyond  the  hill. 
The  sewers  and  water  works  are  incomplete.  You 
have  about  all  there  are  at  your  place  and  the 
towns-people  have  paid  the  corporation  taxes,  al- 
though they  have  been  doubled  since  your  coming, 
without  grumbling.  Think  of  all  these  things, 
Mr.  Schwarmer.  Investigate  this  whole  matter 
for  yourself  and  see  if  you  can't  do  something 
better  for  us  than  you  have  been  doing.  You  have 
refused  to  take  pay  from  us  for  the  destruction  of 
your  property.  We  thank  you  but  we  do  not  wish 
you  to  think  that  we  did  not  give  our  whole 
strength  and  influence  to  the  work.  What  7  did  was 
to  put  it  into  the  head  of  my  husband  (that  now 
is)  to  help  me  do  something  at  once,  to  prevent  the 

158 


The  Killsbury  Women  Arrest  Themselves 

horrible  burnt  sacrifice  that  would  surely  take 
place  if  your  fireworks  were  distributed  here  as 
usual.  I  could  not  rest  after  hearing  the  English 
boast  as  I  did  last  year  that  a  shrewd  English 
Pyro-king  had  sold  millions  of  dollars  worth  of 
fireworks  to  the  American  people  to  burn  up 
on  their  'awful  Independence  Day'  as  they  called 
it,  and  that  the  demand  was  so  great  that  he  had 
to  send  a  supply  from  the  London  manufactory. 
You  see  how  it  is,  Mr.  Schwarmer.  I  have  heard 
and  thought  about  these  things  through  days  and 
nights  of  suffering  and  exile  on  English  soil.  And 
now  I  have  to  confess  that  I  am  the  instigator-in- 
chief  of  the  destruction  of  your  property.  You 
will  be  kind  enough  to  reckon  with  me  if  you  do 
with  anybody.  We  bid  you  good  day  and  a  God 
speed  in  the  right  direction." 

The  ladies  withdrew  without  being  waved  out. 


159 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  EFFECT  OF  RUTH*S  SPEECH. 

ERE  words  can  give  but  little  idea  of 
Ruth's  speech.  It  was  what  would  be 
called  in  military  phrase  of  the  "rapid- 
firing  order."  Her  pretty  brown  eyes 
were  ablaze  with  feeling.  Every  gesture  struck 
home.  The  Golden  Rule  President  encouraged 
her  with  nods  and  smiles.  Lawyer  Rattlinger  was 
amused  and  interested.  The  ladies  were  effected 
to  tears,  while  Schwarmer  turned  all  sorts  of  col- 
ors— red  being  the  predominant  one.  His  face 
seemed  full  to  bursting  at  times;  but  her  final  in- 
vocation steadied  him  a  little  and  after  the  last 
lady  had  disappeared,  he  gasped  out: 

"Well  gentlemen,  really  and  truly !  What  are 
we  to  do  about  a  thing  of  this  kind  ?  I  don't  quite 
understand  the  ladies.  They  have  such  a  sort  of 
vascilating  way — most  assuredly  they  have." 

"Yes,  but  there's  where  the  love  comes  in,"  said 
the  President.  He  was  humming  a  tune  and 
twitching  his  ample  fingers  in  a  lively  way  as 

160 


The  Effect  of  Ruth's  Speech 

though  they  might  be  playing  on   a  harp   of  a 
thousand  strings.     Then  he  sang  out: 

"O !  it's  through  the  women  people  we  shall  find 
the  promised  rest.  The  women,  God  bless  them! 
They  know  what  the  town  needs  if  the  rest  of  us 
don't,  Mr.  Schwarmer,  and  they  are  going  for  it. 
You  may  as  well  capitulate — capitulate  grace- 
fully and  give  them  a  library." 

"And  you,  Rattlinger,  I  would  like  your  view  of 
it, most  assuredly  I  would — that  is,  the  legal  view." 

"Certainly,  you  are  welcome  to  my  point  of 
view  both  legal  and  experimental,"  replied  Rattlin- 
ger. "I  should  say  to  begin  with  that  the  upris- 
ing is  too  respectable  and  tee-total  to  be  ignored. 
Experimentally  I  know  that  a  woman  is  the  deuce 
for  persistence  when  she  once  gets  after  a  thing. 
I  should  say  that  when  a  whole  army  of  them  get 
on  the  war-path  the  library  would  have  to  come. 
Legally  considered,  you  have  not  given  a  promis- 
sory note,  but  you  have  given  them  promissory 
words.  There's  a  point  of  honor,  you  see." 

"Well,  really,  gentlemen,  I  have  always  intended 
to  give  a  library  or  something  of  that  kind,  in  the 
end,  you  know,  but  I  don't  fancy  being  forced  to 
do  it — prematurely,  so  to  speak;  and  you  can't 
blame  me  for  that,  most  assuredly  you  can't. 

"No !  No !  Mr.  Schwarmer,"  sang  the  Presi- 
dent: 

"You're  a  free  untrammeled  soul 

An  undivided  atom  within  a  mighty  whole." 

161 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

"But  you'd  better  divide  up  with  the  ladies,  Mr. 
Schwarmer,"  laughed  Rattlinger,  "or  you  will 
have  to  enter  the  field  against  them ;  I  don't  be- 
lieve you  want  to  do  that.  At  least  I  shouldn't. 
I  should  know  that  I  would  have  to  beat  a  retreat 
in  the  end  and  I  should  rather  beat  a  retreat  in  the 
beginning  while  I  could  do  it  and  save  my  honor; 
as  the  famous  French  General  always  did.  I  would 
not  wait  'til  I  had  a  lot  of  indictments  social  or 
otherwise  tacked  onto  my  coat-skirts.  As  I  un- 
derstand it  they  have  quite  a  number  of  things 
laid  up  against  you ;  and  you  know  the  ladies  are 
famous  for  making  things  look  picturesque." 

The  laugh  of  the  President  at  this  remark  was 
so  contagious  that  Schwarmer  couldn't  help  join- 
ing in. 

It's  all  over  with  you,  my  good  man,"  said  the 
President,  slapping  him  on  the  shoulder  as  he  pro- 
ceeded to  put  on  his  hat. 

"The  women  people  have  pleaded  guilty — guil- 
ty of  doing  a  good  deed  and  they  have  won  their 
case  according  to  Lawyer  Rattlinger's  opinion. 
You  had  better  send  the  library  along  at  once.  A 
little  concession  of  that  sort  makes  everything  run 
as  smooth  as  silk." 

The  President  and  the  lawyer  went  home  to  tea 
and  Schwarmer  returned  to  the  city  on  the  next 
train.  Nothing  was  heard  from  him  until  Sep- 
tember first.  Then  he  came  on  in  his  rushing  way 
with  a  surveyor,  two  architects  and  half  a  dozen 

162 


The  Effect  of  Ruth's  Speech 

contractors.  The  news  ran  through  the  town  like 
wild  fire  that  he  was  really  going  to  begin  the  long 
looked  for  library  building.  It  was  to  be  on  the 
vacant  lot  where  he  was  born.  The  house  not  be- 
ing of  a  substantial  character  had  been  demolished 
long  ago  and  the  lot  itself  had  been  voted  a  nui- 
sance by  the  adjacent  neighbors;  so  there  were 
more  reasons  than  one  for  rejoicing.  The  ladies 
were  especially  delighted. 

"Behold  the  result  of  your  maiden  speech!"  ex- 
claimed Ralph  when  he  came  home  with  the  good 
news. 

"Newly  married  speech,"  laughed  Ruth;  but 
as  Ralph  went  on  to  tell  of  the  large  preparations 
which  were  being  made  she  shook  her  pretty  head 
and  "hoped  Schwarmer  would  not  be  so  idiotic  as 
to  put  all  his  donation  into  a  splendid  building 
and  leave  nothing  for  books.  A  good  plain,  com- 
modious building  is  what  we  want.  Not  a  pala- 
tial, monumental  thing  that  will  make  our  homes 
look  like  hovels  and  turn  out  to  be  a  monument 
for  himself,  for  us  to  keep  in  order." 

"Seneca  the  Sensible,"  were  Ralph's  next  words, 
"but,  you  are  right,  dear  love,"  he  added,  "Schwar- 
mer needs  watching.  'Eternal  vigilance'  is  the 
price  when  you  deal  with  such  a  man.  The  cor- 
poration is  not  obliged  to  accept  his  library  un- 
less it  is  properly  furnished  and  endowed.  I'll  speak 
to  the  Golden  Rule  President  about  that,  at  once. 
Bless  your  heart  for  putting  it  into  my  head." 

163 


The  Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

"Who  in  the  world  is  Dombey  bringing  us?"  ex- 
claimed Ruth  as  her  dog  came  leaping  and  frisk- 
ing up  the  walk.  He  acts  as  though  he  had 
secured  a  great  prize." 

"Millionaire  Schwarmer's  daughter  as  I  live," 
exclaimed  Ralph!  "Isn't  it  comical  though.  I 
never  knew  before  that  dogs  could  be  obsequious ! 
See  that  brute  trying  to  smile." 

The  girl  came  on  slowly  and  rather  timidly  up 
the  long  walk,  while  the  dog  rushed  backward  and 
forward  and  indulged  in  all  sorts  of  joyous  an- 
tics. 

"Excuse  me  for  coming,"  she  said  when  she 
got  within  speaking  distance,  "but  the  dog  would 
have  it  so." 

"Dombey  knew  you  would  be  welcome,"  replied 
Ruth. 

"He  met  me  at  the  train  and  followed  me  all 
around  to  every  place  I  went,  but  when  I  got  to 
this  street  he  took  the  lead.  I  went  on  but  he  came 
after  me  and  cried  and  took  hold  of  my  dress.  I 
guessed  what  he  wanted  so  I  came  a  little  way  with 
him ;  but  when  I  turned  to  go  back  he  whined  and 
made  such  a  time  of  it,  that  I  gave  up  and  came 
home  with  him." 

"And  now  he  wants  you  to  come  up  on  the 
verandah  and  rest,"  laughed  Ruth,  looking  down 
into  the  blue  eyes.  She  thought  she  had  never  seen 
any  so  blue  and  true  looking. 

"I  will  a  moment,  but  I  can't  stay.     I  came  up 

164 


The  Effect  of  Ruth's  Speech 

with  father.  I  wanted  to  see  poor  Mary  who  got 
scared  and  lost  her  baby  Fourth  of  July  night." 

"I  heard  she  was  better,"  said  Ruth. 

"Father  heard  so  too,  and  thought  I  hadn't 
better  come,  but  I  would  come.  I  know  she  feels 
bad  about  her  baby  and  I  want  to  tell  her  how  sor- 
ry I  am  and  how  much  I  blame  Mr.  Bombs."  The 
blue  eyes  filled  with  tears." 

"Fireworks  are  dangerous  things,"  said  Ruth. 
She  felt  her  own  eyes  getting  misty  and  she  was 
wondering  if  Schwarmer's  daughter  knew  of  their 
action  in  regard  to  the  Schwarmer  fireworks. 

"Yes,  they  are  dangerous,"  said  Miss  Schwar- 
mer, "and  they  are  horrid — all  that  I  have  ever 
seen;  and  I  blame  father  for  ever  buying  such 
awful  things  to  give  away.  I  don't  believe  he  ever 
will  any  more.  There  are  so  many  pretty  things 
to  buy." 

"Bless  your  heart,"  said  Ruth.  "I'm  sure  he 
never  will  if  you  ask  him  not  to." 

"I  have  asked  him  not  to  and  I've  blamed  him. 
He  is  going  to  let  me  buy  things  after  this,  for 
the  children  here." 

"O  that  will  be  lovely,"  exclaimed  Ruth — "then 
we  shall  see  you  often  shall  we  not?" 

"I  wish  I  could  stay  here  always,"  said  Miss 
Schwarmer.  "I  don't  like  to  travel  but  we're  all 
going  over  to  London  with  Mr.  Bombs.  I  don't 
like  him,  though  he  is  honest  with  me.  I  blame 
him  for  not  being  honest  with  others.  Father  says 

165 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

he  was  educated  to  amuse  and  mystify  the  people. 
Isn't  it  horrid  to  be  mystified?" 

Ruth  assured  her  it  was  and  then  she  left  with 
Dombey  at  her  heels. 

"Dombey  knows,"  said  Ruth;  and  it's  no  won- 
der. She  is  so  good  and  honest." 

"The  wonder  is  that  Mr.  Schwarmer  should 
have  such  a  child,"  said  Ralph,  "or  Mrs.  Schwar- 
mer either  from  all  we  hear  about  her.  What  a 
pity  that  she  should  be  dragged  around  the  world 
against  her  will;  but  she  'blames'  them  and  no 
doubt  but  they  need  her  blame." 

"And  Mr.  Bombs,  the  man  that's  been  educated 
to  amuse  and  mystify  people.  He  needs  her 
blame  without  the  shadow  of  a  doubt;  and  he  will 
end  by  falling  desperately  in  love  with  her,"  said 
Ruth.  "It  came  over  me  like  a  flash,  when  she  was 
speaking  of  him." 

"Then  it  must  be  so,"  laughed  Ralph,  "for  you 
have  a  sample  on  hand.  I  hope  she  will  marry 
him  and  put  him  to  beneficent  uses." 

When  Ralph  came  home  to  tea  he  brought  an- 
other item  of  news.  Some  kind  of  a  building  was 
going  to  be  constructed  on  Schwarmer  Hill;  and 
no  one  as  yet  had  been  able  to  find  out  what  it  was 
to  be. 

"A  Bombs'  mystification,  perhaps,"  sighed 
Ruth. 

The  library  building  went  on  very  rapidly  and 
by  the  time  the  cold  weather  set  in,  it  was  enclosed 

166 


The  Effect  of  Ruth's  Speech 

and  ready  for  inside  work.  It  gave  evidence  of 
being  a  plain,  substantial,  common  sense  struc- 
ture, with  nothing  showy  or  monumental  about  it. 
Whether  it  was  due  to  Ruth's  original  sugges- 
tions, Ralph's  timely  action,  Lawyer  Rattlinger's 
shrewdness  or  President  Hart  ling's  practical  abil- 
ity, was  not  known.  The  one  thing  that  was  known, 
however,  and  made  sure  of  by  every  taxpayer  in 
town  was  that  it  would  not  be  saddled  onto  them 
for  support.  That  it  was  to  be  an  absolutely  free 
gift.  That  there  would  be  a  liberal  sum  for  books 
and  a  sufficient  sum  set  aside  to  keep  it  in  good 
running  order. 

The  knowledge  concerning  the  building  on 
Schwarmer  Hill  was  not  so  clear.  In  fact  it  was 
"extremely  hazy,"  as  Lawyer  Rattlinger  expressed 
it.  And  yet  there  was  no  seeming  of  secrecy  about 
the  matter.  The  boss-workman  as  well  as  the  arch- 
itect and  builders  were  remarkably  unanimous  in 
saying  when  questioned,  that  it  was  to  be  a  sort 
of  amphitheatre  for  sports  and  games  of  various 
kinds. 

"That  settles  it,  or  rather  unsettles  it,"  said 
the  President,  "for  there  are  various  kinds — a 
large  number  of  them.  They  are  very  various  and 
very  brutal  many  of  them.  Yes,  a  great  many  of 
them  all  the  way  down  from  the  Indian  LaCrosse 
game  and  Fillipino  Hurdle  races  to  Jiu-Jitsu — the 
treacherous  Japanese  game  of  ankle  and  neck- 
breaking.  Even  the  college  sports  must  be 

167 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

pursued  with  the  old  time  barbaric  violence 
and  virulence.  If  we  send  a  son  to  college 
in  these  days  to  cultivate  his  mental  powers,  we 
may  expect  he  will  be  swept  into  the  rage  for  phy- 
sical culture,  and  wind  up  by  losing  an  eye  or  two 
fingers  at  the  least." 

This  was  the  President's  point  of  view  very  de- 
cidedly after  having  had  a  friend  who  cultivated 
his  physical  powers  while  in  college  to  that  extent ; 
but  he  was  ready  to  confess  that  he  had  not  al- 
ways held  such  a  view.  He  recalled  with  regret 
a  time  when  he  had  encouraged  brutal  games  by 
inviting  a  party  of  tired  young  men  and  women 
to  witness  a  football  game. 

"What  an  idiocy,"  he  exclaimed,  "when  there 
were  so  many  perfectly  harmless  amusements 
which  I  could  have  taken  them  to ;  but  I  didn't 
think  about  it.  I  wanted  to  take  them  where  they 
wanted  to  go,  instead  of  wanting  to  take  them 
where  they  ought  to  go  and  managing  to  make  it 
pleasant  for  them." 

"And  so  there  was  a  Providence  in  your  friend's 
hurt  after  all,  you  see,"  said  the  minister. 

"No,  I  don't  see  it,"  replied  the  President,  "else 
I  should  have  to  accuse  Providence  of  hitting  the 
wrong  man.  I  ought  to  have  been  the  one  to  have 
had  my  eye  plucked  out  or  my  hand  plucked  off. 
For  I  had  been  taught  the  good  old  Quaker  rule, 
to  avoid  all  games  that  are  gotten  up  by  men,  for 
the  purpose  of  beating  each  other;  I'm  going  to 

168 


The  Effect  of  Ruth's  Speech 

stand  by  that  rule  after  this,  and  I  hope  Schwar- 
mer  can  be  induced  to  draw  the  lines  at  the  dan- 
gerous games." 

Ruth  hoped  so  too,  but  her  solicitude  was  not 
to  be  put  aside.  Every  week  she  would  have  Ralph 
go  with  her  to  The  Hill  presumably  for  a  walk, 
but  in  reality  to  see  what  the  huge  thing  looked 
like.  She  feared  it  was  going  to  be  something  ob- 
jectionable and  unhelpable. 

"It  doesn't  matter  so  much,  does  it  dear,  if  he 
keeps  it  to  himself — that  is  if  it  doesn't  slop  over 
onto  us?" 

"Yes  it  does  matter,  Ralph — that  is  if  it  turns 
out  to  be  an  arena  for  pyrotechnics  and  that  hor- 
rible Bombs  is  in  it.  If  he  is,  it  will  be  an  adver- 
tisement for  the  blinding  and  demoralization  of 
every  youth  within  sight  of  it.  Powder  and  dyna- 
mite will  be  the  fashion  and  our  Fourth  of  July 
horror  will  rage  again.  O  Ralph !  Ralph !" 

"Here  am  I,  dear !  Trust !  trust !  We  will  be  on 
the  watch-tower.  If  Mr.  Bombs  comes  we  will  see 
what  we  can  do  with  him.  There's  always  something 
to  be  done  if  we  can  only  keep  a  level  head.  You 
must  not  get  too  much  excited  over  it,  dear,  you 
know  the  reason  why.  You  remember  the  garden- 
er's wife,  poor  soul.  Let's  stop  and  see  her  on  our 
way  down." 

"Yes,  Ralph,"  replied  Ruth  eagerly.  "Perhaps 
she  will  know  if  Miss  Schwarmer  is  coming  up  this 
Fourth.  If  there  is  anybody  in  the  world  who 

169 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

can  influence  that  perverse  Mr.  Bombs  rightly 
I  believe  it  is  she." 

Mary  Langley,  the  gardener's  wife,  had  never 
recovered  from  the  hurt  and  fright  caused  by  the 
explosion  of  Mr.  Bombs'  rocket.  Hers  was  one 
of  those  double  hurts  for  which  materia  medic  ae 
has  no  remedy.  She  recovered  sufficiently  to  be 
able  to  attend  to  her  household  duties  and  to  the 
wants  of  her  two  little  children.  Miss  Schwar- 
mer's  well  filled  purse  had  helped  her  thus  far ;  but 
it  could  not  tide  her  over  the  invalid  line.  Dreams 
of  fiery  serpents  and  the  lost  baby  kept  her  from 
refreshing  sleep  night  after  night.  Her  husband 
ridiculed  her  in  vain  for  her  so-called  woman's 
weakness.  Her  hurt  was  too  deep  for  money  or 
ridicule  to  mend.  She  grew  thinner  and  thinner, 
day  after  day,  and  ghostly  white  until  it  was  ru- 
mored about  town  that  she  was  going  into  a  de- 
cline. 

The  Norwoods  were  ill  prepared,  however,  for 
the  frail  spiritual  looking  creature  who  met  them 
at  the  door. 

"Beg  pardon,"  said  Ruth,  "perhaps  you  are  not 
well  enough  to  receive  us.  I  have  heard  about  you 
and  have  been  wanting  to  come  and  see  you  ever 
since;  but  I  thought  you  had  so  many  friends — 
and  better  ones — at  least  those  who  could  do  more 
for  you.  You  are  well  acquainted  with  the 
Schwarmers,  of  course.  Miss  Schwarmer  is  love- 
ly and  she  spoke  to  me  so  kindly  about  you." 

170 


The  Effect  of  Ruth's  Speech 

"Yes,"  replied  Mrs.  Langley,  "Miss  Adelaide  is 
very,  very  kind  and  as  good  and  honest  as  she  can 
be  and  she  did  help  me  all  she  could,  bless  her 
heart,  in  deed  and  word;  but  she  had  to  go  away 
and  it  seemed  as  though  nobody  else  knew  just 
how  I  felt,  and  she  so  young  too — the  others  made 
fun  of  me." 

Tears  came  into  the  hollow  eyes  as  she  stopped 
speaking. 

"Made  fun  of  you?"  questioned  Ruth,  looking 
at  Ralph  wonderingly. 

"O !  the  brutes !"  he  exclaimed,  angrily.  He 
could  not  trust  himself  to  say  more.  He  wanted 
to  ask  who  the  brutes  were  and  why  her  husband 
did  not  resent  such  cruel  insult?" 

"I  suppose  I  was  foolish,"  she  said  apologeti- 
cally. "Even  my  husband  can't  quite  understand 
why  I  was  so  frightened — frightened  out  of  my 
wits,  he  says ;  nor  why  I  can't  get  over  it.  Why  I 
want  to  go  away  from  this  place.  He  hired  to 
Mr.  Schwarmer  for  three  years  and  he  can't  go 
and  it  wouldn't  do  to  quarrel  with  him.  Poor 
James !  He  works  hard  all  day  and  is  so  tired  at 
night ;  and  night  is  the  time  I  feel  the  terror  com- 
ing on !" 

Ruth  gave  a  little  sob. 

"I  can  understand  you,  dear  Mrs.  Langley.  It's 
the  horrible  fireworks  and  their  promoters  you  are 
afraid  of,  and  you  are  afraid  they  will  come  again. 
I  used  to  feel  that  way  until  we  went  to  work  to  get 

171 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

rid  of  them;  but  you  are  helpless  here  on  the 
Schwarmer  grounds.  Then  there's  the  new  build- 
ing. Have  you  any  idea  what  use  that  will  be  put 
to?" 

"My  husband  talks  of  beautiful  horses  and 
races  and  fairs  and  things  of  that  kind,  but  I  have 
rny  fears.  I  know  they  won't  let  Fourth  of  July 
pass  without  doing  something  dreadful;  but  I 
shan't  be  here  then." 

Ruth  knew  that  she  meant  that  she  expected  to 
die  before  that  time,  but  she  would  not  take  it  so. 

"Indeed  you  must  not  stay  here.  You  must  come 
over  and  stay  with  us.  We  are  not  going  to  have 
any  of  those  horrible  things.  You  must  come,  you 
and  the  children,  too;  if  you  do  not  come  of  your 
own  accord,  we  will  come  and  take  you  away," 
laughed  Ruth. 

Mrs.  Langley  promised  to  come  and  Ruth  and 
Ralph  went  home  far  better  pleased  than  they 
would  have  been  if  they  had  been  returning  bridal 
calls  in  the  ordinary  stereotyped  fashion. 


172 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  QUERY.   RUTH's  DOG  DOMBEY  BRINGS  HER  A 
NOTE. 

HE  first  day  of  May  Mr.  Schwarmer 
came  and  brought  a  carload  of  work- 
men.  There  had  been  a  very  large  num- 
ber from  the  beginning.  The  Library 
building  was  completed  and  the  building  on  the 
hill  had  been  going  on  very  rapidly,  particularly 
through  the  months  of  March  and  April,  but  the 
pace  was  nothing  to  what  it  was  after  Mr. 
Schwarmer's  advent.  The  large  lot  on  which  the 
main  building  stood  was  enclosed  by  a  high  wall 
with  gates,  elevated  seats  and  awning  posts.  The 
building  itself  was  decorated,  winged,  painted, 
balconied  and  improved  in  wonderful  ways.  Band 
stands  and  observation  towers  arose  as  if  by 
magic. 

Mr.  Schwarmer  was  a  man  who  liked  to  rush 
things,  and  he  was  here  and  there  and  everywhere, 
pushing  the  work.  When  questioned  as  to  its 
uses  he  laughed  and  said: 

173 


The   Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

"That  is  a  query  even  to  myself.  Come  to  think 
of  it,  I  guess  I'll  name  it  'The  Query.'  It  would 
be  a  good  name  for  it  and  might  be  spelled  with 
one  e  or  two.  A  very  good  one  truly.  A  capital 
one,  since  its  gates  are  to  be  open  to  all  the  queer 
and  popular  things — that  is  the  most  popular, 
amusing,  instructive  and  queer;  and  as  there  is 
always  a  question  as  to  which  is  the  most  truly 
popular  et  cetera.  The  people  of  Killsbury  and 
the  county  can  hold  their  fairs  here  if  they  wish, 
and  bring  their  showiest  bed  quilts  and  biggest 
pumpkins  or  things  of  that  kind,  most  assuredly 
they  can." 

A  week  after  Mr.  Schwarmer's  arrival  Mrs. 
Schwarmer  and  Adelaide  came,  bringing  with 
them  the  Librarian  and  the  books.  The  work  of 
putting  the  Library  in  order  was  to  be  rushed 
also,  for  it  was  to  be  formally  opened  and  handed 
over  to  the  town  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  with  ap- 
propriate ceremonies. 

On  the  day  of  their  arrival  Dombey  did  not 
make  his  appearance  at  dinner — a  function  which 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  observing  as  punctually  as 
the  other  members  of  the  family. 

"Where  in  the  world  is  Dombey !"  exclaimed 
Ruth.  "You  don't  suppose  he  has  gone  to  the 
train  to  meet  Adelaide  Schwarmer  again?  Mrs. 
Langley  told  me  she  was  expected  today." 

"Very  likely,"  laughed  Ralph.  "Dogs  get  hab- 
its as  well  as  the  rest  of  us.  See,  there  he  comes, 

174 


The  Query 

running  like  Jehu!  He  hasn't  captured  her  this 
time;  but  he  acts  as  though  chain  lightning  had 
struck  him.  Something  is  up  you  may  be  sure." 

And  so  there  was.  Dombey  came  rushing  up 
to  Ruth  with  a  note  tied  to  his  collar.  It  was  from 
Adelaide  Schwarmer,  inviting  her  to  meet  them 
at  the  Library  the  next  morning.  They  (she  and 
her  mother)  wanted  to  consult  her  about  some  of 
the  arrangements.  "Father,"  she  said,  "was  very 
busy  and  had  given  it  all  into  their  hands  to  man- 
age." 

"It's  well  he  has,"  said  Ralph  angrily.  "You 
wouldn't  have  my  consent  to  go,  if  he  were  going 
to  be  there." 

"Oh  I  don't  think  he  is  really  a  bad  man,  Ralph. 
Only  blind  with  regard  to  the  characters  of  those 
about  him,  just  as  he  is  custom-blind  in  regard  to 
other  things.  Anyway  I  forgive  him  for  his 
daughter's  sake." 

"Better  wait  until  you  see  what  performances 
he  introduces  on  Schwarmer  Hill." 

"As  long  as  Miss  Schwarmer  is  there  I  feel  as 
though  the  Hill  has  a  guardian  angel — or  a  re- 
cording angel  at  least,  Ralph." 

"Be  careful  though.  Don't  let  them  harness  you 
into  doing  any  hard  work  at  the  library.  You 
know  rich  women  are  apt  to  do  that  sort  of  thing 
and  you  have  to  be  extra  careful  of  your  health 
just  now.  Your  mother  would  never  forgive  me 
if  I  should  let  you  overdo  while  she  is  away." 

175 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

"Don't  be  foolish,  Ralph.  You  know  how  it  has 
always  been  with  papa  and  mamma.  They  were 
over-solicitous.  I  was  never  so  strong  and  healthy 
in  my  life  as  I  am  now.  I  feel  as  though  I  could 
work,  and  should  be  glad  to  in  such  a  cause.  Only 
think  of  it!  The  gift  of  books  and  books  and 
books  and  books  instead  of  firecrackers  and  cart- 
ridges and  toy  pistols !  An  invitation  to  come  and 
help  arrange  them  instead  of  an  order  to  pack  up 
and  leave  the  country  to  get  rid  of  the  horrible 
Fourth !  Then  the  exercises  in  the  Library  in- 
stead of  the  carnival  of  death  and  destruction.  Can 
you  realize  it,  Ralph?  Do  you  really  take  it  all 
in?" 

She  seized  hold  of  his  arms  and  gave  him  a  vig- 
orous shaking  up. 

"You  see  Dombey  got  here  first;  but  how  well 
you  are  looking,"  exclaimed  Adelaide,  when  Ruth 
entered  the  library.  "How  plump  and  fair  you 
have  grown  since  I  was  here !  Let  me  kiss  you." 

A  pink  glow  came  to  Ruth's  cheek  which  made 
her  pretty  face  look  still  prettier,  and  had  its  ef- 
fect on  Adelaide  also.  She  added  shyly :  "Are  you 
tired?  Did  you  walk?  I  ought  to  have  come  for 
you  in  my  phaeton." 

"My  husband  brought  me,"  replied  Ruth,  re- 
covering herself  in  time  to  meet  the  formal  saluta- 
tion and  the  cold  discriminating  glance  of  Mrs. 
Schwarmer,  with  wifely  dignity. 

"I  trust  your  father  and  mother  are  usually 

176 


The  Query 

well.  Perhaps  I  ought  to  have  sent  for  them  to 
assist  me  in  this  matter ;  but  Adelaide  told  me  you 
were  very  enthusiastic  about  the  library  and  knew 
everything  about  books.  There's  an  alcove  set 
aside  for  the  very,  very  choice  ones — books  that  no 
one  should  be  allowed  to  handle,  who  is  ignorant  of 
their  value,  so  the  Librarian  says ;  but  he  has  so 
much  to  do,  we  are  going  to  help  him  all  we  can." 

"Papa  and  mamma  are  in  Chicago  with  an  uncle 
who  is  very  ill — not  expected  to  live  day  after 
day." 

"How  sad,"  said  Mrs.  Schwarmer,  in  the  even 
tone  which  made  it  difficult  to  tell  whether  she 
meant  the  uncle's  sickness  or  the  father's  and 
mother's  absence  from  home.  "Mr.  Bombs  is  in 
Chicago,  too.  He  went  there  to  meet  Mr.  Pang, 
the  celebrated  Pyrotechnic  King.  Chicago  is  to 
celebrate  its  centennial  before  long,  and  Mr.  Pang 
is  to  do  wonders  there.  A  fac  simile  of  old  Fort 
Dearborn  will  be  built  on  purpose  for  him  to  burn 
down,  and  he  will  give  a  realistic  representation  of 
the  "Great  Chicago  Fire"  by  covering  the  roofs  of 
all  the  highest  and  largest  buildings  in  the  city 
with  Roman  lights,  which  are  to  be  lighted  all  at 
once  and  burn  for  hours  and  hours,  and  make  it 
appear  as  though  the  city  were  really  being  burned 
up  again.  No  doubt  it  will  be  splendid.  Did  Mr. 
Bombs  say  anything  about  it  in  the  letter  you  got 
this  morning,  Adelaide?  I  was  too  busy  to  read 
it." 

177 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

"He  didn't  say  he'd  seen  Pang  himself,  but  the 
Pang  Co.  are  making  great  preparations  for  the 
burning,"  said  Adelaide,  "and  I  think  it's  horrid. 
It's  bad  enough  to  have  a  city  half  burned  up  by 
accident;  but  to  pay  thousands  of  dollars  to  have 
it  burned  up  in  play  is  silly  and  sinful  and  I'm  go- 
ing to  tell  Bombs  so  when  he  comes  back." 

"Hush,  Adelaide,"  said  Mrs.  Schwarmer,  au- 
thoritatively. "You  are  too  young  to  express  such 
strong  opinions." 

"My  poor  uncle  lost  his  all  in  that  terrible  fire, 
his  wife  and  children  even.  It  broke  him  down  ut- 
terly. He  has  never  seen  a  well  day  since,"  said 
Ruth.  "To  him  even  the  shadow  of  such  an  expe- 
rience would  be  dreadful." 

"Indeed !  what  a  pity !"  said  Mrs.  Schwarmer  in 
the  same  even  tone  that  left  one  in  doubt  as  to 
where  her  pity  came  in,  as  she  went  into  an  adjoin- 
ing room  to  have  another  consultation  with  the 
Librarian,  after  which  she  rustled  out  to  her  car- 
riage and  drove  swiftly  away. 

"I  am  going  to  take  you  home  in  my  phaeton 
when  you  are  ready  to  go,"  said  Adelaide;  "but 
you  must  see  the  rare  books  first." 

"Certainly,"  replied  Ruth,  "and  I  would  like  to 
do  something  to  help  you,  and  perhaps  I  can." 

"It  would  help  me  to  have  you  here,  to  see  you 
and  talk  with  you,"  replied  Adelaide;  "but  you 
must  not  climb  or  reach  or  handle  the  heavy  books. 
It  isn't  necessary.  I  can  climb  like  a  cat,  and  I 

178 


The  Query 

know  some  nice  boys  who  would  handle  them  as 
carefully  as  you  or  I  or  mamma.  It's  all  moon- 
shine, what  the  Librarian  says  about  them.  They 
will  have  to  be  handled  by  anybody  who  chooses, 
if  they  are  going  to  be  of  any  use  to  the  town." 

"Ralph  would  be  delighted  to  help — help  climb," 
laughed  Ruth,  "I  know  he  would.  Then  how  about 
the  catalogues?  I  can  write  fairly  well — so  my 
husband  says?" 

"Oh  I'm  so  glad,  Mrs.  Ruth.  Pardon,  let  me 
call  you  Ruth.  It's  such  a  pretty  name.  I  write 
a  horrid  hand.  Besides,  I  want  your  company. 
Mamma  is  going  to  be  awfully  busy  up  to  the 
house,  and  Mr.  Bombs  is  coming  back  in  a  few 
days.  May  I  drive  around  for  you  every  morning 
at  ten  o'clock?" 

"Yes  indeed  you  may,"  replied  Ruth.  I  shall 
be  delighted  to  come  and  be  with  you  and  help  you 
and  talk  with  you,  I'm  sure  I  shall.  We  think  alike 
about  so  many  things — about  monstrous  celebra- 
tions and  dangerous  fireworks  and  the  burning  up 
of  money,  when  so  much  is  needed  to  make  the  poor 
comfortable,  and  improve  the  world.  As  though 
there  were  not  sad  accidents  enough  in  the  world 
without  going  to  work  and  making  accidents.  Only 
think  of  the  poor  people  of  Martinique !  Only  just 
recovered  from  the  catastrophe  of  Mont  Pelee 
when  a  hurricane  comes  and  sweeps  away  their 
homes  again!  I  wonder  the  horrible  Fire-kings 
don't  go  over  there  and  try  to  amuse  the  people 

179 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

with  a  Mont  Pelee  eruption !  This  making  sport 
out  of  such  terrible  happenings  seems  to  be  the 
rage  just  now." 

"King  Pang  has  invented  a  Mont  Pelee  fire- 
cracker," said  Adelaide ;  "and  a  huge  noise-maker 
it  is — fifteen  feet  long  and  explodes  fifty  times ! 
Do  you  know  we  visited  him  when  we  were  in  Lon- 
don and  I  didn't  like  him  at  all,  though  he  is  aw- 
ful rich  and  entertained  us  splendidly.  He  invents 
fiery  shows  and  goes  all  over  the  world  to  pile 
up  money  out  of  them,  although  he  is  worth  mil- 
lions already." 

"Please  tell  me  about  him,"  exclaimed  Ruth 
eagerly.  "I  wonder  if  he  is  the  one  that  I  heard 
so  much  boasting  about  in  Canada.  The  one  that 
wooled  the  Americans  into  buying  their  'Indepen- 
dence Day  annihilators'  of  him  they  said.  Those 
horrible  cannon  crackers,  and  things  of  that  sort 
which  kill  and  maim  so  many  every  year — danger- 
ous things  that  never  ought  to  be  manufactured 
or  sold  in  any  country  under  the  heavens.  He 
seems  like  an  arch-fiend  to  me." 

"He  is  as  proud  as  Lucifer  anyway,"  replied 
Adelaide.  "The  whole  family  are  as  proud  as 
they  can  be.  They  have  a  coat  of  arms  and  every- 
thing as  magnificent  as  the  royal  family." 

"A  Coat  of  Arms !  What  has  he  done  to  deserve 
a  Coat  of  Arms?"  asked  Ruth. 

"O !  horrible  things ! — or  his  grandfathers  have. 
One  of  them  invented  a  war  explosive  for  the 

180 


The  Query 

British  navy  and  another  gave  them  a  lot  of  pow- 
der to  carry  on  the  awful  Crimean  war!  The 
Government  made  a  Knight  of  him  to  pay  him  for 
his  powder;  and  they  are  dreadfully  proud  of  it. 
They've  got  it  all  written  down  on  their  Coat," 
laughed  Adelaide. 

"They  had  better  write  down  the  number  of 
human  beings  their  fiendish  inventions  and  gifts 
have  killed,"  said  Ruth  indignantly." 

"O  how  glad  I  am  to  hear  you  say  that.  I  told 
Mr.  Bombs  so  in  those  very  words,"  exclaimed 
Adelaide  with  her  eyes  brim  full  of  honest  glow. 
And  mamma  said  I  was  too  young  to  have  an  opin- 
ion about  such  matters,"  she  added  in  a  grieved 
tone. 

"I  am  only  nineteen,"  remarked  Ruth,  "but  I 
have  had  an  experience,  and  that  amounts  to  more 
than  years,  sometimes." 

"Do  you  know  Mr.  Bombs  is  only  twenty-one. 
It  seems  so  strange  that  he  should  take  it  into 
his  head  to  be  a  Pyrotechnist.  But  his  mother 
died  when  he  was  young  and  I  suspect  his  father 
was  too  busy  making  his  millions  to  think  about 
his  training.  He  told  me  once  that  his  nurse  used 
to  take  him  to  the  beach  every  evening  almost,  to 
see  the  fireworks.  So  you  see  he  had  them  burned 
into  him  almost." 

"Probably  the  nurse  had  a  fondness  for  that 
sort  of  barbarism,"  replied  Ruth.  "O  how  wrong 
it  is  for  parents  to  be  so  careless  of  their  children ! 

181 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

To  trust  them  as  they  do,  to  the  ignorant,  the  fool- 
ish and  the  wicked — they  know  not  whom — often 
to  anybody  who  is  willing  to  wear  a  nurse's  cap 
and  apron." 

"I'm  sure  that's  the  way  it  was  with  Mr.  Bombs. 
His  head  is  full  of  fireworks.  He  went  over  to 
London  on  purpose  to  see  King  Pang  and  get  hold 
of  the  secrets  of  the  trade ;  but  I  think  he  found 
him  rather  foxy,"  laughed  Adelaide. 

"Of  course,"  said  Ruth.  The  English  Pyro- 
king  does  not  relish  having  a  rival  in  the  American 
market." 


182 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


MR.  BOMBS   DISGUST  WITH  CHICAGO  AND  THE  PYRO- 
KING'S  PLANS. 


ffi 


R.   BOMBS  came  on  from  Chicago  the 
evening  after  the  first  meeting  of  Ruth 
and  Adelaide  in  the  Library,  greatly  to 
the    surprise   of   the    Schwarmers,   espe- 
cially to  Adelaide;  but  when  she  questioned  him 
about  it,  he  turned  away  without  giving  a  reason- 
able excuse  and  went  in  search  of  her  father. 

"What!  torn  yourself  away  from  Chicago  so 
soon,"  exclaimed  Schwarmer — "the  mighty  cen- 
tral city — the  huge  centre  of  finance,  rush  and 
pluck!" 

"Faugh!"  replied  Bombs,  turning  green.  "The 
huge  centre  of  soot,  dirt  and  smoke!  The  mighty 
central  inferno,  with  the  Pang  emissaries  plotting 
to  reburn  it,  and  measuring  it  to  see  how  much 
more  smoke  and  flame  it  will  contain." 

"Hold  on,  Fons,"  laughed  Schwarmer,  "you  are 
young  yet  and  you  are  not  in  it.  With  the  Ameri- 
can millionaire  in  it  and  the  foreign  millionaire 

183 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

out  of  it,  Chicago  might  have  its  attractions,  even 
for  you — that  is,  in  a  business  way,  most  assured- 
ly it  might.  You  might  have  to  wade  through  mud 
or  dust  ankle  deep  to  get  at  the  heart  of  Finance — 
that  mighty  man-made  canon  in  La  Salle  St. ;  but 
hark,  Fons,  let  me  tell  you  that  when  you  are  real- 
ly and  truly  up  and  dressed  for  business,  that  can- 
on will  seem  almost  as  glorious  to  you  as  the  very 
finest  of  the  God-made  ones.  Most  assuredly  it 
will.  It's  the  brainy  business  man's  paradise. 
Enough  of  the  'filthy  lucre'  is  handled  there  every 
day  to  run  a  kingdom." 

"More's  the  pity,"  retorted  Bombs.  "Why  can't 
they  use  a  little  of  the  stuff  to  abate  the  smoke  and 
mud  nuisance  and  fill  up  the  'bad  lands'  that  girdle 
it  like  a  slimy  serpent?" 

"Because  the  very  size  of  the  business  stands  in 
the  way,  Fons.  From  every  street  corner  you  no- 
ticed about  a  dozen  chimneys  spouting  clouds 
of  black  smoke.  At  least  I  did  when  I  was  there ;  but 
I  knew  it  meant  business  and  a  great  deal  of  it, 
and  that  it  would  not  be  interfered  with.  Rest 
assured  it  wouldn't.  Then  there  are  the  Stock 
Yards.  They  are  not  beautiful  but  they  are  migh- 
ty. A  thousand  acres  of  slaughter-pens  mean  meat 
for  the  hungry  millions.  They  are  mighty  inter- 
esting looked  at  in  that  way,  most  assuredly  they 
are." 

"I  didn't  give  the  whole  thing  but  one  look," 
sniffed  Bombs. 

184 


Mr.  Bombs'  Disgust  with  Chicago 

"No,  of  course  you  didn't,"  laughed  Schwarmer. 
"You  were  on  the  wrong  scent,  no  doubt.  After 
the  beautiful,  so  to  speak.  Well,  I  reckon  nobody 
ever  accused  Chicago  of  being  beautiful,  really 
and  truly  beautiful;  but  even  the  leopard  has  its 
spots,  and  there  are  some  spots  around  and  about 
the  sides  and  tail  end  of  the  city  that  are  just  beau- 
tiful enough." 

"Yes,  it  is  beautiful  along  the  margin  of  the 
lake,  where  the  city  is  not — or  the  great  bulk  of 
it — but  they  are  making  huge  preparations  to 
spoil  that.  When  its  Centennial  comes  they  will 
turn  its  liquid  beauty  into  a  bed  of  hissing,  fiery 
serpents  a  mile  long !" 

"Yes,  and  Pang's  bill  is  to  be  a  mile  long,  rest 
assured  it  is,"  laughed  Schwarmer.  "He's  sharp 
enough  for  them.  He  isn't  there  for  fun  or  in 
search  of  the  beautiful.  He's  there  for  business 
and  he's  got  it,  Johnny  Bull  fashion,  by  the  horns 
— on  the  lake  front  and  on  the  house-tops,  most 
assuredly  he  has.  No,  Fons,  business  isn't  a  beauty 
of  itself,  you  know,  or  will  know  when  you  get  into 
the  whirl  of  it ;  and  Chicago  is  the  wildest  kind  of 
a  whirlpool  for  business." 

"But  I'm  not  there  by  a  long  shot,"  said  Bombs, 
with  a  sigh  of  relief,  "and  Pang  is  not  there,  at 
least  I  couldn't  find  him." 

"But  you've  found  us  and  we  are  glad  to  see 
you,  most  assuredly  we  are;  and  really  there  isn't 
much  time  to  spare  if  you  are  going  to  get  your 

185 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

new  piece  in  tip-top  order.  It  won't  do  to  have 
any  failure  this  time,  most  assuredly  it  won't." 

"I  can't  do  much  until  the  Pyro-men  come ;  but 
I'm  glad  to  be  here  again  and  out  of  that  infernal 
business  hole,"  said  Bombs,  frankly.  "I  found 
Pang's  pyro-men  so  immersed,  so  perfectly  pickled 
in  the  big  scheme  of  bombarding  Fort  Dearborn, 
reburning  the  city  and  burning  Mr.  Flamingdon 
(or  whatever  his  name  is)  that  I  couldn't  find  out 
about  the  new  colors — the  scientific  things  of  the 
trade.  It's  all  trade  and  no  science  with  them  now. 
They  intend  to  cover  everything  in  their  line.  They 
are  scheming  to  get  hold  of  'The  Chicago  Amuse- 
ment Association,5  I  suspect." 

"What's  that,  Fons?" 

"Can't  describe  it  full  length,"  laughed  Bombs, 
"but  one  section  of  it  is  directing  attention  to  the 
small  boys'  amusement  on  the  Fourth  of  July. 
Conducted  by  himself  they  have  discovered  that  it 
is  not  only  dangerous  but  altogether  insane,  so 
they  are  seriously  at  work  trying  to  construct  a 
sane  Fourth,  which  is  to  wind  up  with  fireworks  of 
such  a  splendid  order  as  to  indemnify  the  small 
boy  for  not  being  allowed  to  have  a  hand  in  letting 
them  off.  Of  course  this  is  where  Pang  will  plot 
to  come  in  with  a  ten  or  twenty  thousand  dollar 
piece." 

"Truly,  this  Fourth  of  July  reform  business  is 
growing  to  be  pretty  wide,  to  reach  as  far  as  Chi- 
cago. They've  got  a  new  name  tacked  onto  it 

186 


Mr.  Bombs'  Disgust  with  Chicago 

though.  'Sane  Fourth !'  Pretty  good.  You  know 
I  told  you  the  other  day  you  hadn't  better  go  into 
Fourth  of  July  trimmings  too  deep — most  assur- 
edly I  did,  Fons." 

"I  don't  intend  to,  Mr.  Schwarmer.  Historical 
pieces  are  my  ambition;  but  that  reminds  me,  I 
want  to  ask  you  something." 

"Out  with  it,  my  lad,  you  can't  ask  me  anything 
I  wouldn't  be  happy  to  answer,  most  assuredly  you 
can't." 

"It's  about  Adelaide,"  said  Bombs,  in  an  assured 
tone.  "  I  know  you  and  father  have  talked  of  unit- 
ing your  families.  Of  course  she  is  young  yet  and 
I  am  not  very  aged ;  but  I  am  old  enough  to  enter- 
tain the  idea;  and  what  I  want  to  ask  of  you  is 
permission  to  talk  to  her  about  it.  My  father  has 
written  me  that  I  am  to  go  abroad  for  an  extended 
trip — that  is,  after  I  have  got  through  here  and 
witnessed  the  reburning  of  Chicago.  When  I  re- 
turn I  shall  be  quite  a  mature  man  and  she  will  be 
a  charming  young  lady,  no  doubt.  You  see  what 
would  be  likely  to  happen;  but  I  do  not  feel  like 
going  away  without  sounding  the  depths — getting 
a  sort  of  a  free-holder's  lease — lest  another  fellow 
should  come  along  and  secure  the  prize.  I  think 
it  well  to  look  out  for  such  matters  ahead  of  time." 

"All  right,  Fons.  I  would  like  nothing  better 
than  to  unite  our  families — consolidate  them,  so  to 
speak.  I  believe  in  consolidations  of  that  kind,  I 
assure  you  I  do,  with  my  whole  heart;  but  you'll 

187 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

have  to  do  your  own  proposing.  I'm  a  true  Yankee 
on  that  head.  I  should  never  get  Anglicised  on 
that  point  if  I  should  sail  over  to  England  every 
month.  I  assure  you  I  shouldn't.  You  will  have 
to  do  the  straight  thing.  You  needn't  try  to  win 
her  in  a  round-about  way  through  me  or  her  mam- 
ma. She's  always  had  her  head  pretty  much,  and 
perhaps  that's  what  makes  her  rather  heady.  She 
is  honest,  though,  and  has  very  strong  notions  of 
the  right  and  the  wrong  of  things.  She  often 
takes  me  to  task  for  not  squaring  my  business  con- 
cerns by  the  'Golden  Rule.'  Probably  she  would 
do  the  same  with  her  husband.  Eh !  Fons  ?" 

"I  understand,"  replied  Fons.  "She's  at  the 
formative  period  now.  She  will  have  left  off  a 
great  many  of  her  notions  in  two  or  four  years' 
time.  Besides,  I  am  not  afraid  of  them  even  as  they 
are." 

"Proceed  then,  young  man.  Push  ahead  with  the 
sounding.  You  have  my  hearty  permission,  most 
assuredly  you  have.  You  seem  like  an  only  son  al- 
ready ;  and  you  have  my  best  wishes  for  your  suc- 
cess with  the  plummet-line,  so  to  speak.  No  use  of 
wasting  any  great  amount  of  lead  on  it,  though, 
most  assuredly  not.  You  will  be  able  to  ascertain 
the  exact  degree  of  perpendicularity  in  Addie's 
case  without  an  enormous  waste  of  time  or  money. 
She  is  straight  up  and  down  as  a  rule,  most  decid- 
edly so.  There's  nothing  crooked  about  her  or 
slantendicular,  as  there  often  is  about  the  opposite 

188 


Mr.   Bombs'   Disgust  with  Chicago 

sex — rest  assured  there  is  not.  Unlike  the  vast 
majority  of  fathers  I  have  kept  up  an  intimate 
acquaintance  with  my  daughter  ever  since  she  was 
born,  and  I  can  give  you  my  hand  or  oath  on  that 
point,  most  assuredly  I  can.  I've  nothing  more  to 
say  except  that  I  shall  keep  an  eye  on  the  other 
fellows  while  you  are  away,  and  that  she's  heart 
free  to  date.  She's  only  a  grown  up  child,  so  to 
speak — all  ready  to  bloom  but  not  fully  bloomed 
out,  rest  assured  she  is  not. 

With  such  characteristic  assurance,  Mr.  Bombs 
left  his  prospective  father-in-law  to  seek  Adelaide. 
He  was  anxious  to  make  his  first  experiment  with 
the  plummet-line  as  Mr.  Schwarmer  had  not  alto- 
gether inaptly  called  it.  It  pleased  him  to  fancy 
that  he  had  already  scored  a  success  in  the  matri- 
monial line,  but  whether  it  was  Mr.  Schwarmer's 
hearty  permission  to  talk  freely  to  his  daughter, 
or  the  plummet-line  illustration  that  tickled  his 
fancy  the  most,  he  could  hardly  have  told.  He  may 
have  been  pleased  to  think  that  his  own  expression 
as  to  "sounding  the  depths,"  had  been  its  inspira- 
tion, for  he  was  at  the  age  when  he  was  beginning 
to  use  idiomatic  language  and  large-sized  words 
and  would  be  apt  to  note  their  effectiveness.  As 
to  Schwarmer,  he  may  have  had  a  youthful  ex- 
perience with  plummet-lines  even  though  it  may 
have  gone  no  farther  than  the  sounding  of  a  goose- 
pond. 

When  he  found  her  she  was  coming  up  the  hill 

189 


The  Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

from  Mrs.  Langley's.  She  appeared  on  its  summit 
at  the  moment  when  the  sun  was  plunging  down 
behind  it  like  a  ball  of  fire.  It  was  rather  a  remark- 
able coincidence  and  it  struck  him  as  such,  that 
when  she  got  to  the  place  where  Mrs.  Langley  had 
first  appeared  on  the  night  of  her  accident,  she 
stopped,  threw  her  head  upward  and  clasped  her 
hands  around  her  body  just  as  the  poor  scared  wo- 
man had  done.  He  understood  the  pantomime  per- 
fectly and  it  pleased  him,  although  it  recalled  one 
of  his  most  signal  failures — that  is  from  a  profes- 
sional point  of  view.  From  the  artistic  point  it 
had  been  considered  quite  a  success — "quite  ma- 
donna like,"  Miss  Drawling  had  said,  and  although 
he  would  not  have  given  a  "fip"  for  her  opinion  on 
any  other  subject,  he  thought  she  had  said  one 
very  good  thing.  His  regret  for  the  accident  had 
never  been  heart  deep.  He  inclined  to  the  brute 
belief  that  accidents  as  a  rule  added  to  the  human 
interest  in  life — at  least  the  kind  of  accidents  that 
call  forth  the  tenderest  kind  of  sympathy. 

"You,  have  been  posing,"  he  said  as  he  went  for- 
ward to  meet  her.  "Really  you  did  it  well.  You  see 
I  was  watching  for  you — to  tell  you  something." 

"I  have  been  down  to  see  poor  Mary.  She  hasn't 
got  well  of  her  fright  yet.  What  a  dreadful  thing 
it  was !" 

"Yes,  but  you  blamed  me  for  it  at  the  time, 
roundly.  I  hope  you  are  not  going  to  blame  me 
over  again,"  said  Bombs  lightly. 

190 


Mr.   Bombs'   Disgust  with  Chicago 

"There's  no  use.     The  blame  will  last." 

"You  will  forgive  me  before  I  go  away." 

"How  do  you  know,  Mr.  Bombs?" 

"O  Pythagoras  in  Petticoats !  You  are  here 
again !  I  am  undone !"  laughed  Bombs. 

"Don't  call  me  that  or  I  shall  run  away  before 
you  tell  me  your  something." 

"That  would  be  a  dense  calamity." 

"Why  dense,  Mr.  Bombs?" 

"Because  I  could  never  get  through  the  tangle 
if  you  were  not  here  to  ask  leading  questions,  Miss 
Adelaide." 

"I  am  here  and  I  am  listening.  But  if  you  don't 
begin  to  tell  me  at  once  I  am  going." 

"Here  it  is,  then,  without  exasperating  prelude. 
I  am  going  away  immediately  after  the  Fourth  to 
be  gone  from  one  to  four  years — four  probably. 
Only  think  of  that  immense  stretch  of  time!  Are 
you  glad  or  sad  to  hear  the  astounding  revela- 
tion?" 

"Before  I  answer  I  want  to  ask  where  you  are 
going  and  exactly  why?" 

"To  Germany,  Austria  and  China.  To  schools 
of  Pyrotechny  everywhere — to  study  up  the  art 
and  find  out  the  secrets  of  the  craft." 

"In  order  to  beat  King  Pang  at  his  trade  and 
become  an  American  Pyrotechnic  King?" 

"Undoubtedly!  my  father  is  worth  his  million, 
he  would  not  let  me  take  a  back  seat  in  any  profes- 
sion." 

191 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

"I  am  sorry  then,  Mr.  Bombs." 

"For  whom  or  what,  Miss  Adelaide." 

"For  you,  and  that  you  are  going  on  such  a 
quest." 

"Are  you  not  the  least  bit  sorry  on  your  own  ac- 
count. Will  you  not  be  a  trifle  lonesome  without 
me  to  blame,  Miss  Adelaide?" 

"Perhaps,  Mr.  Bombs,  in  a  way." 

"In  what  way,  Miss  Adelaide?" 

"Just  as  your  sister  or  mother  would  be,  I 
fancy." 

"Sisterly !  Motherly !"  laughed  Bombs.  "That's 
infinitely  correct,  just  now,  but  in  two  or  four 
years  from  now  wifely  will  be  the  proper  word, 
and  you  will  feel  very  different." 

"I'm  sure  four  years  or  a  thousand  will  not  make 
any  difference  in  my  feelings  about — " 

"About  what  or  who?"  insisted  Bombs. 

"About  you,"  she  added  promptly. 

He  was  looking  at  her  with  a  brazen  sort  of  fix- 
edness that  would  have  made  almost  any  mature 
woman  blush.  He  wanted  to  make  her  blush  and 
he  expected  she  would,  but  he  was  disappointed. 
She  looked  straight  at  him  and  was  as  placid  as  the 
traditional  moonbeam. 


192 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

SCHWARMER    DOES    A    LITTLE    HUSTLING    ON    ADE- 
LAIDE'S  ACCOUNT — A  FOURTH  OF  JULY  BUGLE. 

HREE  skilled  Pyrotechnics  came  down 
from  the  city  a  week  before  the  Fourth 
to  set  up  Mr.  Bombs'  Pyro-spectacle, 
The  Siege  of  Yorktown.  Mr.  Bombs 
himself  was  very  busy  superintending  the  work, 
which  was  conducted  with  all  possible  secrecy.  He 
did  not  absolutely  refuse  to  answer  Adelaide's 
questions ;  but  he  called  her  Pythagoras  in  Petti- 
coats quite  frequently  and  she  knew  that  whenever 
the  epithet  came  in,  it  was  to  stand  in  the  place 
of  an  explanation ;  but  she  soon  found  out  enough 
about  it  to  know  she  wasn't  going  to  like  it  and  she 
told  him  so  frankly.  She  could  not  do  otherwise. 
The  frankness  that  her  father  claimed  to  have  she 
possessed  in  a  full  degree.  Moreover,  she  had  a 
desire  for  correct  knowledge  which  he  did  not  pos- 
sess. 

She  re-read  the  Siege  of  Yorktown  and  the  life 
of  Washington  during  those  days  and  she  could 
talk  intelligently  about  both. 

193 


The  Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

"It's  sad  enough  to  think,  Mr.  Bombs,  that 
Yorktown  was  besieged  and  so  many  lives  lost  and 
so  much  property  destroyed,  without  having  it 
done  over  and  over  and  over  again." 

"I'm  afraid  you  don't  love  your  country  and  the 
Father  of  it  as  well  as  you  should,  Miss  Adelaide." 

"Yes,  I  do,  Mr.  Bombs.  I  love  my  country  and 
I  love  Washington  and  I  wonder  what  he  would 
say,  were  he  to  come  back  after  all  these  years,  and 
see  us  besieging  an  imaginary  Yorktown,  and 
burning  up  money  which  he  and  his  men  had  al- 
most perished  for  the  want  of.  You  haven't  rep- 
resented the  misery  and  poverty  of  it,  Mr.  Bombs." 

"No,  Miss  Adelaide,  nor  the  money  chests  of 
Rochambeau  and  Laurens,"  laughed  Bombs. 

"You  represent  only  what  you  consider  the 
glory  of  it,  Mr.  Bombs.  Washington  would  never 
admit  that  there  was  any  glory  in  war.  He  said 
it  was  'a  plague  that  should  be  banished  from  the 
earth.'  What  would  he  say  if  he  should  take  a  look 
at  the  earth  as  it  is  now  and  see  the  millions  and 
millions  spent  to  glorify  war,  be-star  it  and  write 
it  on  God's  sky  in  lines  of  fire!  And,  worse  still, 
see  thousands  of  innocent  youths  sacrificed  yearly, 
not  to  the  patriotic  sentiment,  but  to  the  patriotic 
fury.  There  was  little  Laurens  Cornwallis'  terri- 
ble accident !  Have  you  any  idea  how  it  could  have 
happened,  Mr.  Bombs?" 

"Yes,  I  have  an  idea,  Miss  Adelaide — at  least 
an  idea  of  how  it  might  have  occurred,  but  ideas 

194 


A  Fourth  of  July  Bugle 

are  not  worth  much  without  proofs.  They  are  apt 
to  be  rather  prejudicial,  especially  with  young 
ladies  of  your  age.  Perhaps  I  will  tell  you  my 
idea  sometime." 

"Before  you  go  away,  Mr.  Bombs  ?" 

"No,  surely  not.  You  will  not  be  much  older 
then,"  laughed  Bombs.  "When  I  come  back  from 
Europe  you  will  be  quite  a  young  lady.  The  ex- 
plosion of  an  idea  or  of  fireworks  will  not  be  apt 
to  shock  you  then." 

"I  shall  always  be  shocked  when  I  think  of  that 
beautiful  boy's  death,  Mr.  Bombs.  It's  a  dread- 
ful mystery !" 

"Was  his  name  Latirens  or  Lawrence."  asked 
Bombs,  laconically. 

"Laurens.  It  was  his  mother's  maiden  name. 
Her  ancestors  were  French." 

"Laurens  Cornwallis !  Indeed !  Two  celebrat- 
ed names.  English  and  French  conjoined.  Do 
they  claim  to  be  descendants  of  the  French  finan- 
cier and  of  the  English  fighter?"  asked  Bombs. 

"I  have  never  heard  so.  Wouldn't  it  be  lovely 
though?  Foe  meeting  foe  in  true  love  and  friend- 
liness through  their  children.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Corn- 
wallis are  a  very  devoted  couple." 

"My  point  of  view  was  simply  consolatory. 
Providence  permitting,  it  might  not  be  well  to  have 
too  many  Cornwallis's  on  American  soil,"  said 
Bombs. 

"We  have  room  enough  and  to  spare.     I  read 

195 


The  Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

a  letter  yesterday  from  Washington  to  Lafayette. 
He  said  it's  a  strange  thing  that  there  should  not 
be  room  enough  in  the  world  for  men  to  live  with- 
out cutting  each  other's  throats." 

"But  he  laid  siege  to  Yorktown  all  the  same, 
Miss  Adelaide." 

"Yes,  but  after  it  was  all  over  and  he  had  grown 
older  and  wiser,  he  saw  how  horrible  it  was.  I  al- 
most know  he  did." 

"I  am  only  twenty-one  and  the  siege  is  booked," 
laughed  Bombs.  "I  wonder  if  Mrs.  Ruth  Corn- 
wallis  will  come  to  witness  it?  I  should  think  she 
would  be  interested,  especially  if  one  of  her  grand- 
fathers paid  French  money  for  it  and  the  other 
had  to  surrender." 

"I  think  she  will  not,  but  I'm  going  to  ask  her 
today,"  replied  Adelaide,  as  she  started  off  for  the 
Library. 

When  she  returned  she  told  Bombs  that  Ruth 
was  supposedly  allied  to  the  Laurens  and  Corn- 
wallis  of  Revolutionary  fame  and  that  her  hus- 
band, Ralph  Oswald  Norwood,  could  trace  his  an- 
cestry back  to  the  British  merchant  who  told  King 
George  that  "nothing  would  satisfy  the  Americans 
short  of  permission  to  fish  to  an  unlimited  extent 
on  the  banks  of  New  Foundland." 

"Then  I  shall  have  to  give  them  seats  in  the 
front  row,  I  suppose,"  laughed  Bombs. 

"No,  they  are  not  coming,  Mr.  Bombs.  Ruth  at- 
tended the  Queen's  birthday  celebration  once  when 

196 


A  Fourth  of  July  Bugle 

she  was  in  Canada.  It  wound  up  with  one  of  the 
great  London  Pyro-king's  shows.  She  did  not  like 
it  at  all  and  was  afterwards  shocked  to  learn  that 
America  had  paid  millions  of  dollars  for  such  shows 
during  the  twenty-five  years  of  his  occupancy  of 
her  market  and  that  they  were  advertisements  for 
his  Fourth  of  July  Fireworks,  which  are  a  curse  to 
the  land." 

Mr.  Bombs  received  the  information  with  an  air 
of  unconcern  and  Adelaide  went  to  her  father's 
office.  She  had  a  piece  of  information  for  him 
also,  and  something  more. 

"O  father,  Ruth  can't  come  to  our  dedication 
if  you  are  going  to  have  a  military  company  with 
guns  and  swords  and  a  Fourth  of  July  racket  band 
in  the  procession.  Such  things  make  her  sick." 

"What  nonsense,  Adelaide!  I  guess  she  can 
stand  it  since  the  small  boy  is  not  permitted  to 
have  a  hand  in  it." 

"No  she  can't,  father.  It  isn't  nonsense.  How 
would  you  feel  if  I  should  be  brought  to  you  to- 
morrow all  torn  to  pieces  as  her  little  brother 
was?" 

"O,  my  dear  child!  don't  mention  it!" 

"But  I  must  mention  it  and  I  want  you  to  look 
straight  into  my  eyes  and  answer  me  truly !  Sup- 
pose I  should  be  brought  home  to  you  this  Fourth 
with  my  eyes  both  blown  out  and  mamma's  jewels 
lodged  in  the  sockets,  do  you  think  you  could  ever 
bear  the  sight  or  sound  of  horrid  explosive  things 

197 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

after  that — bear  them  without  a  shudder — even  if 
they  were  in  the  hands  of  grown-up  people?" 

"Such  a  thing  never  could  happen,  Addie." 

"It  did  happen  to  Ruth's  little  brother.  The 
jewels  were  his  mother's  wedding  sapphires." 

"O  Addie!  Addie!" 

"Answer  me  truly,  father." 

"No,  dear  child,  I  never  could." 

"Ruth  can't  either.  She  has  more  reason  than 
you  could  have.  She's  like  poor  Mary,  the  gar- 
dener's wife.  Her  husband  and  parents  know  it 
wouldn't  be  safe  for  her  to  come  if  there's  going 
to  be  guns  or  things  of  that  sort.  She  wants  to 
come  so  much  that  Ralph  was  going  to  speak  to 
you  and  see  if  they  couldn't  be  left  out ;  but  I  told 
him  I  was  the  one  to  speak,  because  the  Library 
was  going  to  be  named  for  me." 

"Well,  there  is  something  in  that,  Adelaide, 
most  assuredly  there  is ;  but  it's  rather  short  notice. 
The  military  company  were  coming  on  the  morning 
train." 

"Telegraph.  You'd  do  it  if  stocks  were  in 
jeopardy — you  know  you  would — you  are  such  a 
hustler." 

"Of  course,  of  course!"  Here  it  goes  then.  I 
can't  ruin  my  reputation  as  a  hustler,"  said 
Schwarmer,  stepping  to  the  'phone  and  calling  up 
the  regiment.  "Don't  come  to  the  dedication  of 
The  Adelaide  Library." 

"Now,  there's  one  hustle  for  you,  what  next?" 

198 


A  Fourth  of  July  Bugle 

laughed  Schwarmer.  Adelaide  laughed  too  and 
clapped  her  hands. 

"O!  isn't  it  jolly,  father!  The  soldiers  can  stay 
at  home  for  once  and  dear,  sweet,  little  Mrs.  Ruth 
can  come." 

"What  next,  Addie?  I've  got  on  my  hustling 
cap.  Call  off." 

"The  Independence  Day  racket  band  and  the 
rockets  must  be  left  out  of  the  procession,  father." 

"O!  now!  that  strikes  nearer  home,  Addie!  But 
I  can  do  it.  I  can  hustle  things  near  by,  most  as- 
suredly I  can,  if  I  once  set  out  with  my  hustling 
suit  all  on.  Bombs  will  have  to  confine  his  fire  to 
Yorktown  if  I  say  so,  won't  he?" 

"Yes,  and  you'll  say  so,  won't  you,  father?" 

"Yes,  Addie,  I'll  say  so  if  you  really  want  me  to ; 
but  aren't  you  afraid  it  will  hurt  Bombs'  feelings 
to  have  his  precious  rockets  left  out  in  the  dark, 
so  to  speak.  He  has  invented  a  new  kind  on  pur- 
pose for  daylight  show — very  rich  and  dark  and 
velvety,  exceedingly  so,  and  he  has  named  it  the 
'Airy  Navy  Rocket.'  I  suppose  he  intends  it  for  a 
hit  at  Lord  Tennyson's  'airy  navies  grappling  in 
the  central  blue,'  and  no  doubt  but  they'd  get  hurt 
if  they  should  ever  materialize  sufficiently  to  get 
hit  with  Bombs'  rockets,"  laughed  Schwarmer, 
looking  at  Adelaide,  keenly.  He  was  wondering 
how  she  stood  affected  toward  the  young  man. 

"Airy  Navy  Rocket!"  exclaimed  Adelaide.  "I 
won't  have  it.  I  don't  care  if  his  feelings  are  hurt. 

199 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

You  know  how  his  horrid  rocket  hurt  poor  Mary. 
It  killed  her  baby,  hurt  her  feelings  and  made  her 
sick.  She  and  her  children  are  going  over  to 
Ruth's  to  stay  the  night  of  the  Fourth.  She  is 
afraid  to  stay  with  us.  O  dear !  dear !  I  think  it's 
dreadful  to  have  our  own  people  feel  that  way  to- 
ward us.  I  can't  endure  it.  I  thought  the  Com- 
mon Council  had  passed  a  law  against  sending  off 
dangerous  rockets." 

"They  have,  but  it  didn't  include  Bombs'  brand- 
fired  new  navy  rocket ;  and  even  if  it  had  a  few  lit- 
tle fines  wouldn't  cramp  him  much,"  laughed 
Schwarmer. 

"But  I  include  it.  I  say  he  has  no  business  to 
put  those  hissing  horrors  into  the  Adelaide  Library 
procession.  I  won't  have  the  Library  named  Ade- 
laide if  he  does." 

"Good  for  Adelaide,"  laughed  Schwarmer. 
"That  ends  it.  I  promise.  What  next?  There  is 
something  more.  I  see  it  in  your  eye." 

"Yes.  There  is  one  thing  more.  Promise  not 
to  have  the  cannon  let  off.  Ruth  doesn't  like  to 
hear  it  and  it  makes  her  mother  cry,  because  little 
Laurens  shivered  when  he  heard  it  the  morning  be- 
fore he  was  killed,  and  asked  her  why  you  didn't 
have  a  bugle?" 

Schwarmer  turned  quickly  to  the  'phone  and 
called  up  a  music-dealer:  "Please  send  me  at  once 
the  best  bugle  and  bugler  that  there  is  in  the  mar- 
ket." 

200 


A  Fourth  of  July  Bugle 

"That's  all,  dear  blessed  father.  I'm  so  happy ! 
What  a  truly  glorious  time  we  are  going  to  have," 
cried  Adelaide,  as  she  danced  out  of  the  office  and 
hastened  away  to  the  Library  to  tell  Ruth  the  good 
news.  She  did  not  tell  her  about  the  bugle ;  but  it 
came  in  time  to  speak  for  itself. 

It's  sweet  notes  penetrated  the  Cornwallis  cot- 
tage as  the  Fourth  of  July  dawned.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Cornwallis  were  asleep  when  the  first  note  came. 
When  the  second  note  came  Mrs.  Cornwallis  awoke 
and  wondered  if  she  were  still  on  earth.  She  had 
dreamed  of  being  in  Heaven  with  Laurens  and  lis- 
tening to  a  bugle  call.  It  seemed  so  real  to  her 
that  she  shook  her  husband's  arm. 

"The  bugle!  The  bugle!  Did  you  hear  it?  Are 
we  in  Heaven?" 

"Not  quite,  Angeline,  but  I  think  we  are  happier 
than  we  have  been  in  years  and  I  do  hear  a  bugle. 
It's  time  for  the  cannon.  Do  you  suppose  anybody 
could  have  put  it  into  Schwarmer's  head  to  have  a 
bugle  instead  of  a  cannon?" 

Ruth  and  Ralph  were  awake  when  the  first  note 
sounded.  She  was  gathering  up  her  nerves  for 
the  booming  of  the  cannon  and  Ralph  was  saying : 
"I  believe  Miss  Schwarmer  would  influence  her 
father  to  do  away  with  that  monster  if  she 
knew  how  it  hurt  you  and  especially  your 
mother." 

"She  does  know  it,  Ralph,  and  I  believe  she  has 
done  it,"  exclaimed  Ruth,  springing  up  and  lis- 

201 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

tening  intently.  "Yes,  Ralph,  don't  you  hear  it? 
It's  a  bugle!  Really  a  bugle!" 

Another  note  sweeter  and  louder  greeted  them. 

"Yes,  it  is  a  bugle  and  a  very  fine  one.  What  a 
blessed  creature  Adelaide  Schwarmer  is!"  said 
Ralph. 

Ruth  could  not  speak.  Her  heart  was  so  full  of 
gladness,  but  she  indulged  in  what  Ralph  called 
"a  happy  cry." 


202 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE   DEDICATION   OF   THE   LIBRARY. 

HE  dedication  of  the  library  proved  to 
be  a  very  enjoyable  affair  although  the 
military  "fuss  and  feather,"  the  Indepen- 
dence Day  racket  and  the  ostentatious 
hoisting  of  flags  were  left  out.  It  was  more  like  a 
church  dedication,  minus  the  mounted  marshals 
and  uniformed  cadets  which  are  among  the  latter 
day  improvements  or  experiments.  The  Schwar- 
mers  stood  out  more  conspicuously  than  they  would 
otherwise  have  done ;  but  they  were  no  more  so  than 
the  Killsbury  people  felt  that  they  had  a  right  to 
be.  Mrs.  Schwarmer  was  in  regal  robes  with  which 
the  ladies  were  much  pleased.  Mrs.  Martin  nodded 
to  Mrs.  Arundel  and  said : 

"She  has  honored  us  at  last  by  putting  on  her 
best  apparel." 

Adelaide  was  dressed  in  a  lovely  white  mull.  No- 
body had  noticed  until  then  how  very  pretty  she 
had  grown.  Mr.  Schwarmer  insisted  on  wearing 
his  plain  business  suit  as  it  was  eminently  proper 

203 


The  Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

he  should  since  he  had  to  do  the  main  business 
part — that  is,  hand  over  the  deeds  to  the  Town. 
That  being  done  he  made  a  short  characteristic 
speech,  in  which  he  said : 

"This  building  is  not  a  monument  to  myself, 
most  assuredly  it  is  not ;  but  it  would  have  been  if 
the  architect  had  carried  his  point.  He  planned  to 
have  a  giraffe  style  of  tower,  which  was  to  rise 
about  sixty  feet  above  the  roof  and  be  furnished 
with  a  bell  that  would  weigh  3,000  pounds  and  peal 
out  every  hour  of  the  day  and  night.  But  as  it 
was  going  to  be  a  gift  to  the  people  and  named 
after  my  daughter  I  thought  they  ought  to  have 
something  to  say  about  it,  and  they  did;  most  as- 
suredly they  did  (cheers  and  laughter).  You  see, 
my  dear  friends  and  fellow  citizens,  I  have  dis- 
carded the  old  barbarous  saying — 'Never  look  a 
gift-horse  in  the  mouth.'  Hereafter  my  maxim 
will  be:  Look  a  gift  horse  in  the  mouth  very  care- 
fully and  pay  particular  attention  to  his  grinders. 
(Laughter  and  applause.)  But,  as  I  was  saying, 
the  architect's  plan  was  handed  over  to  the  Golden 
Rule  President  and  referred  to  the  people — 'all 
the  people,'  my  daughter  included,  and  they  de- 
cided that  the  giraffe  tower  and  thunderous  bell 
would  be  a  superfluity  if  not  a  nuisance,  most  as- 
suredly they  did.  They  decided  that  they  did  not 
want  to  be  kept  awake  nights  by  the  clanging  and 
the  whanging  of  a  brazen  bell.  Also  that  they  had 
never  had  any  trouble  finding  out  the  time  of  day." 

204 


The  Dedication  of  the  Library 

Schwarmer  sat  down  amidst  cries  of  "Good, 
good !"  "Schwarmer's  a  wit."  "What's  the  mat- 
ter with  Schwarmer?  He's  a  wit.  He's  a  wit." 

Mrs.  Schwarmer  was  to  do  the  naming  of  the 
library  as  Adelaide  was  under  age;  and  so  it  was 
highly  proper  and  natural  that  Adelaide  should 
stand  between  her  father  and  mother  during  the 
process ;  and  she  did  stand  between  them  with  her 
slender  hands  resting  on  an  arm  of  each  and  look- 
ing as  one  of  the  Killsburyians  remarked,  "for 
all  the  world  as  though  she  were  going  to  fly." 

She  really  did  feel  happy  enough  to  fly  when  she 
saw  the  radiant  faces  of  Ruth  and  Ralph  and  of 
Mrs.  and  Mr.  Cornwallis,  who  had  come  on  from 
Chicago  on  purpose  to  attend  the  dedication. 

Yes,  the  people  of  Killsbury  really  did  enjoy  this 
peaceful,  home-like  affair.  Although  they  may 
not  have  been  fully  aware  of  it,  they  really  en- 
joyed it  much  more  than  they  possibly  could,  if 
there  had  been  a  whole  regiment  of  strange  sol- 
diers to  take  all  the  best  seats  and  leave  them  to 
hang  on  the  outside  and  peer  in  at  the  doors  and 
windows.  They  enjoyed  the  speeches,  for  all  the 
speech-makers  in  town  were  there,  the  Golden  Rule 
President  and  Father  Ferrill  inclusive.  They 
would  not  have  heard  a  word  of  them  if  they  had 
been  pushed  to  the  background,  with  an  Indepen- 
dence day  racket  in  the  rear.  Besides  it  was  so 
much  more  in  harmony  with  books  and  the  spirits 
that  made  them  or  would  wish  to  commune  with 

205 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

them,  than  the  ordinary  civic  fuss  and  noise  would 
have  been. 

Mr.  Bombs  did  not  attend.  Indeed  why  should 
he?  He  had  no  interest  in  it  after  his  new  rockets 
were  left  out  and  he  was  almost  as  much  a  stran- 
ger in  the  community  as  the  soldier  would  have 
been.  Besides  he  was  going  to  rehearse  his  piece. 

Adelaide  appreciated  the  former  reason  and 
Mr.  Schwarmer  the  latter. 

"That's  right,  Fons,"  said  Mr.  Schwarmer, 
"you  must  have  your  siege  all  fixed  so  nobody 
will  get  hurt,  most  assuredly  you  must.  You'd 
better  leave  out  some  of  the  most  striking  things 
than  to  have  anybody  struck  blind.  I  don't  know 
of  anybody  on  this  side  of  the  drink  that  would  be 
willing  to  be  made  black  and  blue  all  over  or  have 
his  hair  burned  off  by  the  falling  of  a  burning 
tower,  as  old  Crags  did  at  a  Pyro-show  in  Lon- 
don." 

"You  forget  that  even  his  willingness  didn't 
hold  out,"  laughed  Bombs.  "He  clothed  himself 
with  asbestos  for  the  last  night." 

"Don't  know  as  I  blame  him  much  and  I'm  sure 
Addie  wouldn't  blame  him  at  all,  most  assuredly  I 
am,"  nodded  Schwarmer  significantly. 

Adelaide  and  her  mother  came  out  a  moment 
later  dressed  for  the  library.  Bombs  looked  at 
Adelaide  as  though  he  had  never  seen  her  before, 
made  his  lowest  bow  and  went  to  his  rehearsal.  It 
was  well  he  did  for  one  of  the  Pyro-men  was  on  the 

206 


The  Dedication  of  the   Library 

point  of  charging  a  motor  that  would  have  laid 
Yorktown  in  ashes  before  the  siege  began. 

"As  it  was,  however,  the  siege  came  off  at  the  ap- 
pointed time  and  was  witnessed  by  a  large  major- 
ity of  the  people  of  Killsbury  besides  the  Schwar- 
mer  guests  that  came  up  on  the  evening  train. 

The  best  that  can  be  said  of  the  siege  is  that  it 
passed  off  very  smoothly  and  without  incident.  His- 
torically considered  it  was  just  about  as  valuable 
as  the  famous  pyro-show  of  the  burning  of  Rome, 
where  Nero  goes  down  beneath  a  falling  pillar  of 
fire.  The  siege  of  Yorktown  ended  with  the  go- 
ing down  of  Lord  Cornwallis  and  his  8,000  sol- 
diers into  the  pyrotechnic  gulf  especially  pre- 
pared for  them. 

The  audience  applauded  and  Adelaide  was  feel- 
ing relieved  to  think  that  all  was  over  when  a 
vociferous  encore  set  in  and  Mr.  Bombs  came  on 
the  stage.  He  looked  amazingly  brilliant.  He 
had  all  his  jewels  on  surely,  and  more  too,  she 
thought.  There  seemed  to  be  a  nest  of  them  in  the 
curl  of  jet  black  hair  on  his  forehead.  Was  he 
going  to  do  that  tiresome  siege  over  again?  No, 
he  would  make  a  bow  and  a  speech,  and  that  would 
end  it  certainly. 

He  began:  "The  London  Pyro-king  who  boasts 
of  his  prowess  in  this  country,  has  invented  a  piece 
which  he  calls  'Eagle  Screams1.  Turn  about  is 
fair  play.  I  have  invented  a  piece  which  I  have 
named  ' Johnny  Bull's  Bellows.'  You  will  now  have 

207 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

the  pleasure  or  grief  of  looking  Johnny  full  in 
the  face  and  listening  to  his  bellowings." 

He  bowed  again  more  politely  and  gracefully 
than  before — as  graceful  as  a — serpent,  she  fin- 
ally put  it  and  "polite  enough  to  shake  hands  with 
a  crab,"  as  the  Indians  say.  She  had  never  seen 
him  look  so  splendid — so — startling;  but  she  liked 
him  less  than  ever. 

The  bull's  head  that  was  formed  while  Adelaide 
was  forming  her  opinions  was  shaped  like  a  veri- 
table bull's  head  and  outlined  with  stars  of  small 
magnitude.  From  its  mouth  and  nostrils  issued 
great  streams  of  different  colored  fires.  The  bel- 
lowings were  effectively  but  mysteriously  pro- 
duced. 

"I  can't  see  faw  the  life  of  me,  Mr.  Bombs,  just 
how  you  could  have  compassed  all  that,"  Miss 
Drawling  was  saying,  when  something  in  the  na- 
ture of  a  revelation  cut  short  her  sentence.  The 
bellowings  suddenly  ceased  and  loud  oaths  and 
grumblings  and  groanings  took  their  place.  Mr. 
Bombs  rushed  behind  the  scenes  and  saw  the  man 
whom  he  had  engaged  to  do  the  bellowing,  lying 
in  a  collapsed  condition  on  the  floor  of  the  stage 
with  a  whiskey  bottle  in  his  hand. 

"Confound  you !"  exclaimed  Bombs,  "what  does 
all  this  mean?" 

"It  means  that  the  lungs  av  me  have  been  giv- 
ing out  with  the  dress  rehearsal  and  the  play  on 
top  av  it  and  I  am  sthriving  to  reinforce  them." 

208 


The  Dedication  of  the  Library 

"Allow  me  to  say  that  your  efforts  are  not  suc- 
cessful. You  can  be  excused  until  further  notice, 
and  you,"  he  added  turning  to  the  chief  Pyro, 
"will  oblige  me  by  winding  up  the  spectacle  with- 
out any  more  swearing." 

The  spectacle  of  Johnny  Bull's  Bellows  was 
wound  up  according  to  order  and  Mr.  Bombs  ap- 
peared on  the  stage  and  gave  a  humorous  account 
of  the  complication  behind  the  scenes  which  had 
cut  off  the  spectacle  rather  prematurely,  and  add- 
ed that  it  was  not  quite  so  bad  as  the  thing  that 
had  happened  to  Mr.  Pang  on  his  first  presenta- 
tion of  the  burning  of  Rome.  He  related  the  in- 
cident and  the  guests  were  greatly  amused — al- 
most as  much,  perhaps,  as  they  would  have  been 
if  "Johnny  Bull's  Bellowings"  had  been  carried 
out  to  the  full  extent. 

And  so,  Mr.  Bombs  fancied  he  had  not  failed 
after  all.  If  he  had  done  nothing  more  he  had 
proved  himself  to  have  the  proper  personality  for 
the  making  of  a  successful  Pyro-King.  He  could 
fascinate  and  mystify  the  public.  "You  see,"  he 
said  to  Adelaide  the  next  morning,  "I  might  bet- 
ter have  such  accidents  and  experiences  now  than 
when  I  get  about  my  larger  piece — 'The  Battle 
of  the  Wilderness.'  " 

"The  Battle  of  the  Wilderness !"  exclaimed  Ade- 
laide. "Is  it  possible  you  are  going  to  try  mak- 
ing an  amusement  out  of  that  dreadful  battle?" 

"Yes,  it's  a  possibility,"  laughed  Bombs,  "and 

209 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

I  know  of  another  possibility,  that  will  match  it 
beautifully." 

"What  is  it,  Mr.  Bombs?" 

"That  Miss  Adelaide  Schwarmer  will  not  be  so 
scrupulous  about  such  matters  when  I  return  from 
Europe  as  she  is  now." 

"Why  do  you  think  so,  Mr.  Bombs?  Have  you 
changed  that  way  since  you  were  my  age?" 

"No,  Miss  Adelaide,  but  I  was  a  boy  and  you 
are  a  girl." 

"What  difference  could  that  make,  Mr.  Bombs." 

"A  mighty  sight  of  difference,  Miss  Adelaide. 
You  were  not  educated  or  expected  to  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  business  concerns.  I  was  and 
with  the  very  biggest  kind,  and  they  all  mean  war, 
more  or  less." 

"O  dear,  how  dreadful!  I  can't  understand  it 
at  all,  Mr.  Bombs." 

"Of  course  you  can't,  Miss  Adelaide.  No  truly 
good  woman  can.  Business,  especially  of  the 
vasty  kind  is  a  devil  incarnate  in  her  pure  eyes." 

"And  it  seems  to  me  that  your  kind  of  business 
is  the  worst  of  all,  Mr.  Bombs,  and  that  there's  no 
need  of  it  in  this  world." 

"Can't  you  think  of  something  more  consoling? 
This  is  your  last  chance.  I  am  going  to  the  city 
tomorrow  to  see  King  Pang  beat  himself  in  his 
twenty-fifth  saturnalia  of  fire.  Then  to  Chicago 
to  see  him  help  the  Chicagoians  beat  the  St.  Louis 
dedication  and  re-burn  the  city.  After  that  I  will 

210 


The   Dedication  of  the   Library 

start  out  on  what  you  have  called  my  'worst  of  all 
business.' ' 

Adelaide  thought  of  Laurens  Cornwallis'  tragic 
death,  of  Mary  Langley's  fright  and  the  poor 
man  with  the  exhausted  lungs ;  but  she  did  not 
speak  until  the  silence  had  become  unbearable  to 
Mr.  Bombs  and  he  asked: 

"What  is  it,  Miss  Adelaide?  Why  don't  you 
speak  out?" 

"Hush !  Mr.  Bombs.  I  am  listening !  I  thought 
I  heard  a  voice.  Your  mother's  or  mine." 

They  were  discouraging  words  for  the  last — 
almost  cruel  he  thought  for  him  who  had  known 
nothing  of  mother  love  and  very  little  of  parental 
care.  They  made  him  feel  like  a  savage  almost. 
He  went  to  Miss  Drawling  for  an  offset.  He  knew 
he  could  get  enough  encouragement  there  and  he 
did  find  more  than  enough.  Not  but  what  he  liked 
her  flattery  but  the  personality  behind  it.  Faugh ! 
It  was  simply  disgusting.  Any  woman  who  could 
think  and  talk  as  she  did,  was  worse  than  a  man. 
She  was  a  brute.  Would  it  be  ever  thus,  was  one 
of  the  questions  he  asked  himself.  Was  one  truly 
loveable  creature  going  to  say  things  to  him  that 
would  not  be  endurable  in  themselves  and  was 
another  going  to  say  opposite  things  which  would 
make  herself  a  creature  to  be  abhorred.  With  the 
unreasonableness  of  the  youthful  man  he  hoped 
to  find  a  mean  between  the  two — that  is  a  woman 
who  would  love  himself  most  deeply  and  devotedly 

211 


The   Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

even  while  she  was  finding  fault  with  and  condon- 
ing his  business  enterprise.  He  did  not  realize 
it  but  it  was  as  much  as  to  say  that  he  knew  he 
was  launching  out  in  an  unrighteous  course;  but 
that  he  was  determined  not  to  turn  from  it  for  the 
love  of  any  creature  whatever.  Adelaide  under- 
stood his  attitude  toward  herself  and  she  did  not 
care  a  rush  for  it;  but  there  was  something  about 
his  attitude  to  others  which  she  did  not  fully  un- 
derstand. It  was  struggling  to  light  and  it  filled 
her  soul  with  dread. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

ADELAIDE   STAYS  AT   HOME   WITH   HER   FATHER. 

R.  BOMBS  did  not  go  to  Chicago  alone 
nor  as  soon  as  he  intended.  He  planned 
to  go  at  the  first  breaking  out  of  the 
Centennial,  which  was  to  be  on  the  day 
when  Chicago  was  exactly  one  hundred  years  old. 
The  city  was  expected  to  be  in  an  unusual  state  of 
ferment  from  the  beginning;  and  many  things 
were  going  to  be  done  to  herald  the  coming  glory 
of  the  Jubilee  week,  among  the  most  important  of 
which  was  to  be  the  much  advertised  re-burning  of 
the  city. 

"King  Pang  is  trying  to  keep  his  fires  to  the 
front;  but  his  'ads'  will  cost  him  something," 
laughed  Bombs  scornfully ;  "for  there  are  others 
and  others  and  they  are  going  to  make  a  big  show 
of  everything,  from  a  razor-back  porker  to  a 
Golden  Rule  Mayor.  It  will  be  tedious." 

"Everything  'from  a  jackass  to  a  lyre,'  as  the 
Romans  say,"  remarked  Miss  Drawling. 

"Yes,  and  you  might  spell  it  1-i-a-r,"  sneered 
Bombs.  "I  don't  believe  Pang  will  be  there." 

213 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

"Then  why  do  you  go  so  soon?"  asked  Mrs. 
Schwarmer.  "You  will  die  of  te-di-um — not  te- 
deum.  There!  Mr.  Bombs  you  have  spoiled  me.  I 
never  made  a  pun  before  in  my  life.  I  had  rather 
make  a  pie  than  a  pun." 

They  all  laughed  and  Bombs  said  he  "must  obey 
his  royal  father's  mandate,  and  find  out  all  he 
could  about  Pang's  trade,  with  or  without  King 
Pang's  aid." 

"Perhaps  if  you  will  wait  a  little  we  will  go  with 
you  and  try  to  divide  the  tedium  into  shares,"  sug- 
gested Mrs.  Schwarmer,  whereupon  there  occurred 
a  large  amount  of  social  banter  which  finally  end- 
ed in  a  declaration  from  the  ladies  that  if  he  would 
wait  they  would  surely  accompany  him;  and  a 
declaration  from  him  that  if  they  would  surely  ac- 
company him,  lie  would  surely  wait. 

"And  you,  Miss  Adelaide,  and  Mr.  Schwarmer 
— you  will  go  and  take  shares  with  us,  will  you 
not?"  asked  Bombs. 

"Say  no,  father.  We  don't  want  any  stock  in 
the  Chicago  Jubilee.  Let's  stay  here  together," 
said  Adelaide. 

"Of  course  we  will  stay  and  keep  house,  Addie — 
that  is,  eat  up  our  dividends,  so  to  speak." 

"Good !  Good !"  laughed  Adelaide. 

"Indeed,  Miss  Adelaide !  Won't  you  feel  rather 
lonely  to  have  us  all  flit  away?" 

"No,  Mr.  Bombs.  I  can  go  to  see  Ruth  every 
day  and  the  faithful  Dombey  will  be  my  escort.  I 


Adelaide  Stays  at  Home  with  Her  Father 

like  it  here.  It's  so  beautiful,  still  and  sweet.  I 
would  not  go  to  Chicago  and  be  in  all  that  smoke, 
dust,  fire,  dynamite  and  stuff  for  anything.  O 
how  happy  we  are  going  to  be  here,  aren't  we 
father?" 

"Yes,  Addie,  quite  comfortable,  I  reckon.  Of 
course  we  shall  miss  them,  most  assuredly  we  shall ; 
but  we'll  try  and  not  grow  thin  over  it,"  laughed 
Schwarmer. 

The  next  day  after  their  departure  Adelaide 
went  to  see  Ruth  and  took  her  mother's  journal  as 
she  had  promised. 

"You  see  how  dearty  I  prize  it,"  she  said,  taking 
off  the  rose-scented  covering.  "I  have  had  it  re- 
bound and  adorned  with  her  own  portrait  and 
those  of  other  Friends  so  far  as  I  can  find  them — 
every  one  she  mentioned  in  the  Journal — William 
Penn,  Elizabeth  Fry,  Lucretia  Mott  and  many 
others." 

She  handed  it  to  Ruth  to  look  at  the  portraits. 
It  was  bound  in  soft  gray  plush  and  had  bands 
and  clasps  of  solid  silver. 

"O  how  delicate  and  shining!"  exclaimed  Ruth 
taking  it  tenderly  from  her  hand — like  her  quiet, 
cheerful  spirit  I  fancy." 

"Yes,  that's  the  way  I  tried  to  have  it  seem," 
replied  Adelaide  brushing  away  a  tear;  "but  I 
didn't  know  as  you  would  understand  it.  Her 
dresses  are  all  of  this  dove-like  tint.  Sometimes 
when  I  am  alone  I  put  them  on." 

215 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

"Did  she  wear  the  Friends'  cap  and  bonnet?" 
asked  Ruth. 

"No,  she  did  not  think  them  essential;  but  she 
drew  the  line  at  adornments  for  the  production  of 
which  human  life  is  imperiled  or  animal  life  reck- 
lessly destroyed,"  replied  Adelaide. 

"And  this  is  your  mamma  on  the  first  page? 
How  much  you  look  like  her !" 

"Not  mamma,  but  mother,"  said  Adelaide. 
"She  wanted  me  to  call  her  mother — to  speak  of 
her  and  think  of  her  as  mother,  and  I  always  have. 
I  call  my  second  mother,  mamma." 

"How  old  were  you  when  she  died?"  asked 
Ruth. 

"Three  years,  and  father  married  again  when  I 
was  four." 

Ruth  handed  back  the  journal  and  Adelaide  be- 
gan reading  in  a  low  tuneful  voice  like  that  of  a 
mother  talking  to  her  child. 
"My  DEAR  DAUGHTER  ADELAIDE: 

The  doctors  say  that  I  have  consumption — the 
incurable  disease,  and  that  I  cannot  live  many 
years  at  the  longest.  I  can  hardly  believe  it — I 
feel  so  well  and  happy  and  have  such  a  desire  to 
live  and  be  ever  near  thee  to  guard  thee  against 
the  evils  and  perils  of  this  world;  but  lest  I  may 
not  I  will  try  to  make  it  plain  to  thee  what  the 
evils  and  perils  are  that  encompass  us  around  and 
about — plain  to  thee  according  to  my  light,  re- 
ceived through  the  teachings  that  have  been  hand- 

216 


Adelaide  Stays  at  Home  with   Her  Father 

ed  down  to  me  through  a  long  line  of  ancestry, 
from  such  good  and  wise  men  as  George  Fox  and 
William  Penn.  Remember  that  I  do  not  say  that 
they  were  the  only  wise  teachers  in  the  world  or  that 
their  light  is  the  perfect  light  or  rather  all  the  light; 
but  that  it  is  good  so  far  as  it  goes  has  not  as  yet 
been  gainsayed.  Even  thy  father  who  was  not 
reared  in  my  faith,  can  find  no  flaw  in  it  except 
that  it  is  impracticable  in  the  present  imperfect 
conditions  of  the  world.  I  trust  he  is  beginning 
to  see  the  light  of  Christ  as  it  is  and  will  be.  Keep 
near  him,  dear  child,  very  near  him.  Seek  for  the 
living  light  together,  hand  in  hand.  It  is  needed 
every  where,  in  our  daily  walk  and  conversation  and 
even  in  our  dress  and  adornments.  I  am  not  one 
who  thinks  that  the  cut  or  style  of  a  dress  or  hat  is 
of  great  importance  and  yet  I  have  been  led  to  per- 
ceive that  there  is  a  line  beyond  which  it  would  be 
a  sin  to  go — that  we  should  use  nothing  for  per- 
sonal adornment  which  calls  for  the  cruel  slaugh- 
ter of  animals  or  for  vicious  and  degrading  work 
from  our  fellow  creatures.  Lest  words  fail  to  ex- 
press my  meaning,  I  will  give  thee  an  experience 
of  my  own  as  an  illustration. 

"Thy  father  gave  me  a  set  of  pearls  for  a  wed- 
ding gift.  All  my  friends  both  in  and  out  of 
Friends  Society  said  it  was  a  beautiful  and  appro- 
priate gift.  I  thought  so  too.  Their  gentle  lus- 
tre pleased  me.  They  were  in  harmony  with  my 
silver-gray  gown.  We  went  to  Paris  for  our  wed- 

217 


The   Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

ding  trip.  One  day  we  visited  the  famous  oyster  mar- 
kets and  parks  which  provide  such  a  bountiful  food 
supply  for  the  sustenance  of  the  human  race. 

"  'What  a  blessing  particularly  to  the  working 
people,'  said  thy  father.  'The  ever-ready  meat  that 
unlike  beef  does  not  have  to  be  killed  and  cooked.' 

"But  even  while  we  were  talking  of  the  good- 
ness of  Providence  in  furnishing  such  a  convenient 
sort  of  food,  a  shadow  crossed  our  path,  that 
startled  us  both.  It  was  a  man  with  a  sallow  com- 
plexion, bulging  brow  and  piercing  eyes.  He  was 
hurrying  on  at  a  wild  and  rapid  pace  but  as  he 
observed  us  he  stopped  stone  still  and  glared  at  us 
— or  rather  at  my  pearl  brooch  and  ring — glanc- 
ing from  one  to  the  other  with  a  greedy  look  that 
frightened  me  for  I  had  read  of  people  being 
robbed  of  jewels  in  the  streets  of  Paris  in  broad 
daylight. 

"  'Oh !  he's  not  dangerous,'  laughed  the  guide. 
'He's  one  of  those  scientific  wretches  who  is  on  the 
watchout  for  pearl  oysters.  He  goes  prowling 
around  the  oyster  beds  and  markets  in  search  of 
them.  He  was  looking  at  your  pearls  to  see  if 
they  had  a  perfect  skin  and  a  fine  orient.' 

"  'I  see  he  is  interested  in  oysters  as  pearl  pro- 
ducers instead  of  food  products,'  said  thy  father. 

"  'He  has  curious  ideas  about  pearls,'  said  the 
guide.  'He  says  they  are  the  product  of  disease 
in  the  animal — that  the  disease  is  contagious  and 
he  is  hard  at  work  trying  to  spread  the  contagion !' 

218 


Adelaide  Stays  at  Home  with  Her  Father 

"  'Spreading  contagion  among  oysters !  What 
a  work  for  a  sane  man,'  said  thy  father.  'How  does 
he  manage  the  business?' 

"  'He  takes  the  oysters  that  are  afflicted  with 
the  pearl  disease  and  puts  them  in  the  bed  with 
those  that  are  not  afflicted  and  keeps  them  there 
until  they  catch  the  disease.  He  says  it  is  as  easy 
to  spread  as  the  small  pox.' 

"0  how  horrid!  I  cried.  How  satanic!  To 
think  of  going  to  work  deliberately  to  introduce 
disease  and  contagion,  even  among  the  lower  forms 
of  life!  And  he  does  all  this,  not  to  benefit  the 
hungry  poor  but  to  hang  more  and  more  pearls 
around  the  necks  of  the  greedy  rich! 

"Thy  father  laughed;  but  it  was  no  laughing 
matter  for  me.  I  cried  over  my  wedding  pearls 
that  night  and  resolved  to  lock  them  up  out  of  my 
sight  as  soon  as  I  returned  home. 

The  next  day  I  was  strengthened  in  my  resolu- 
tion by  meeting  with  a  pearl  diver.  The  poor  man 
was  worn  out  before  his  time  by  this  dreadful  bus- 
iness. He  sat  day  after  day  by  the  sea  looking  out 
upon  its  sparkling  surface  and  dreaming  and  talk- 
ing of  the  perils  he  had  encountered  down  below 
in  its  green  gloom — of  the  hideous  armor  he  wore 
when  he  went  forth  to  war  with  its  savage  army 
of  sharks  and  devil-fishes,  in  order  to  win  pearls 
for  the  Queens  of  the  world  and  the  queens  of 
men's  hearts. 

"Will  you  show  us  your  awful  armor?  I  asked. 

219 


The   Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

"  'Certainly,  madam,  and  get  my  son  to  trick 
me  out  in  it,  though  I've  never  worn  it  since  the 
day  that  the  shark  cut  off  my  air  pipe  and  the 
terrible  pressure  blew  out  my  eye  balls  and  ear 
drums  to  the  bursting  point.' 

"O  don't  put  the  horrid  thing  on,  I  pleaded, 
only  show  it  to  us. 

"But  put  it  on  he  would — the  ply  upon  ply  of 
clothing,  the  heavy  weights  for  the  feet,  back  and 
breast  and  the  awful  barred  helmet,  which  was 
screwed  up  at  last  like  a  lid  to  a  coffin,  making  him 
deaf  and  dumb  to  the  outside  world !  O,  my  child, 
I  cannot  tell  thee  of  the  sensations  I  felt  as  I  looked 
upon  that  manacled  denuded  specimen  of  the  hu- 
man being  sent  out  to  fight  the  vain  war  for 
pearls! 

"But  the  worst  of  all  is  the  war  between  gov- 
ernments and  nations.  It  is  the  giant  murder.  It 
impoverishes  and  brutalizes  humanity.  It  is  the 
cardinal  sin  against  which  the  Society  of  Friends 
have  always  striven.  George  Fox  began  the  good 
fight,  and  William  Penn  though  reared  for  the 
army  and  tempted  by  rewards  of  glory  and  hon- 
or, renounced  all  and  joined  the  blessed  Brother- 
hood of  Peace.  Not  only  that  but  he  came  to  this 
new  world  and  put  his  principles  into  practice,  as 
thou  wilt  see  when  thou  are  old  enough  to  read  his 
life  which  thou  wilt  find  in  my  little  library  that  I 
have  willed  to  thee.  Read  it  and  ponder  it  in  thy 
heart,  dear  child.  It  will  tell  thee  far  better  than 

220 


Adelaide  Stays  at  Home  with  Her  Father 

I  can  of  the  sin  and  horror  of  war  and  the  beauty 
and  loveliness  of  peace. 

"Look  about  thee  and  search  out  the  apostles 
and  prophets  of  peace  the  world  over  and  estab- 
lish spiritual  or  visible  communion  with  the  friends 
of  peace  everywhere.  Those  that  preach  and  write 
and  paint — foremost  among  whom  at  the  present 
time  are  Count  Tolstoi  and  Vassili  Verestchagin  of 
far  off  Russia.  I  had  read  much  about  Tolstoi 
and  knew  of  his  great  influence  for  peace;  but  it 
had  never  occurred  to  me  that  an  artist  could  make 
the  painted  lesson  fully  as  effective  until  we  met 
Vassili  on  our  trip  abroad  and  talked  with  him  face 
to  face.  He  was  educated  for  the  navy  even  as 
Penn  was,  but  he  laid  aside  the  sword  for  palette 
and  brushes  and  painted  the  horrors  of  war  so 
truly  and  in  such  living  colors  that  no  one  with  a 
soul  could  look  upon  them  without  being  converted 
to  peace — so  truly  that  the  German  soldiers  were 
not  permitted  to  look  upon  them!  So  truly  that 
the  Russian  soldiers  fled  their  country  rather  than 
be  compelled  to  join  the  army.  So  truly  that  he 
was  counselled  by  the  Government  to  destroy  one 
of  his  greatest  truth-tellers — a  large  picture  of 
Alexandre  II.  sitting  safely  on  a  hill  watching  the 
awful  slaughter  of  his  soldiers  at  the  battle  of 
Plevua. 

"The  truth  seems  terrible  to  behold,  especially  to 
'the  powers  that  be,'  said  Vassili  as  we  stood  by  the 
ghastly  picture  of  the  'Frozen  Sentinel  in  the  Ship- 

221 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

ka  Pass,  but  I  can't  help  that,  I  must  paint  the 
truth  or  nothing.  I  wade  through  the  inferno  of 
the  most  hideous  battles  for  the  precious  kernel 
of  truth,  and  when  I  find  it  I  can't  gloss  it  over 
and  make  it  appear  what  it  is  not.  If  you  ever 
have  another  awful  war  in  America  I  shall  have  to 
come  over  and  paint  it  truly." 

"  'You  need  not  wait  for  another  war,'  said  I, 
"to  get  material  for  a  warning  truth.  We  have  a 
glorification  of  war  every  year — yes,  twice  a  year 
now ;  that  is  more  dangerous  than  war  itself,  be- 
cause it  begins  at  the  root.  It  takes  hold  of  the 
children." 

"  'I  shall  be  there  in  good  time,'  were  his  last 
words  to  us.  I  believe  that  he  will  come,  dear  child, 
and  that  thou  wilt  see  him  and  help  him  in  his  mis- 
sion of  truth. 

"Next  to  the  giant  murder  of  war  there  is  an- 
other murder  that  is  like  unto  it.  It  is  not  whole- 
sale murder  like  that  which  is  done  by  the  Gov- 
ernment army,  but  it  is  worse  in  some  respects.  It 
is  surely  worse  for  the  one  who  strikes  the  death 
blow — for  the  man  that  is  hired  by  the  Govern- 
ment to  murder  its  criminals  inasmuch  as  such  a 
life-taker  is  abhorred  not  only  by  the  criminals 
whom  he  releases  from  life  as  gently  as  possible, 
but  by  the  people  whose  instrument  he  is;  while 
the  other  murderer,  the  army  officer  who  leads 
hundreds  of  splendid  young  men  and  horses  over 
wounded  bodies  of  friends  or  foes  to  cruel  slaugh- 

222 


Adelaide  Stays  at  Home  with  Her  Father 

ter  is  applauded  on  all  sides  and  covered  with  hon- 
or and  glory. 

"I  saw  them  standing  side  by  side  one  day — 
these  two  kinds  of  murderers.  One  was  plainly 
dressed  and  carried  a  grimy  black  bag  in  his  white 
bony  hand.  He  was  wrinkled  and  old  before  his 
time.  He  was  nervous  and  shrinking,  as  though 
the  fingers  of  the  living  were  pointing  at  him  and 
the  curses  of  the  dead  following  him. 

"The  other  man  was  richly  dressed  and  had  a 
sword  at  his  belt.  He  was  large,  full-fleshed  and 
florid.  He  was  bold,  brazen  and  bulging,  as 
though  the  whole  world  were  at  his  back,  pushing 
him  forward  and  encouraging  him  to  cultivate 
every  bestial  faculty  to  the  full  extent. 

"Yes,  dear  Adelaide;  I  saw  these  two  men 
standing  side  by  side  one  day  at  a  railway  station. 
It  was  before  thou  wert  born.  I  knew  well  enough 
who  the  man  with  the  sword  was,  but  the  other! — 
the  frightened,  woe-begone  looking  man?  Thy 
father  did  not  want  to  tell  me  about  him  at  first. 
He  thought  it  might  hurt  thee  and  me.  He  was 
foolish  about  such  matters  as  kind  husbands  are 
apt  to  be.  It  cannot  hurt  anyone  to  talk  and 
think  freely  at  any  time  about  anything  that  is 
worth  thinking  or  talking  about.  It  hurts  them 
and  those  born  of  them  to  suppress  the  truth." 

"O  how  true !"  exclaimed  Ruth !  "Ralph  ought 
to  hear  that." 

Adelaide  nodded  as  she  went  on. 

223 


The  Independence   Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

"And  I  did  think  of  those  men  until  my  journey 
was  ended,  and  I  have  thought  of  them  many  times 
since.  Thanks  to  my  righteous  teachers  I  was 
able  to  see  them  as  they  were.  They  filled  my  soul 
with  horror  and  pity — pity,  for  I  perceived  that 
they  were  the  monsters  the  Government  (which  is 
ourselves)  had  made.  But  I  pitied  the  scared  look- 
ing man  with  the  grimy  black  bag  in  which  his 
weapon  of  death  lay  concealed  more  than  I  did  the 
man  with  the  glittering  sword  that  he  wore  boldly 
in  the  eyes  of  all.  He  looked  so  wretched,  so  op- 
pressed and  conscience  stricken,  that  I  thought  the 
time  would  surely  come  when  he  would  throw  off 
the  terrible  yoke  that  had  been  put  upon  him  and 
refuse  to  use  the  bolts  of  heaven  for  the  extinc- 
tion of  human  life.  But  when  I  heard  that  he 
was  working  by  night  and  day  on  an  awful  chair 
— a  veritable  throne  of  death  on  which  the  crimi- 
nal will  sit  and  die  without  looking  upon  his  exe- 
cutioner's hated  presence;  my  pity  was  mingled 
with  loathing,  for  I  perceived  that  he  was  a  will- 
ing instrument  instead  of  a  terrible  necessity,  and 
that  he  cared  nothing  for  the  victims  of  the  law 
except  that  he  might  be  spared  from  their  curs- 
ings and  hate.  That  he  was  plotting  against  them 
while  he  was  hiding  away  from  them  and  making 
of  that  death-machine  a  life-work. 

"Beware  of  all  such  men,  my  dear  daughter. 
Believe  thy  mother  when  she  tells  thee  that  the  life- 
taker  is  sure  to  be  a  brute.  Trust  not  thyself 

224 


Adelaide  Stays  at  Home  with  Her  Father 

least  of  all  to  the  so-called  capable  brute.  See  to 
it  that  the  occupation  of  the  man  that  would  mar- 
ry thee  be  not  of  their  kind. 

"In  short,  marry  no  one  unless  the  spirit  moves 
thee  strongly.  Remember  that  the  credit  is  not  to 
those  who  bring  the  most  children  into  the  world 
but  those  that  bring  the  best  or  take  the  best  care 
of  those  that  are  already  here." 

Adelaide  paused  and  looked  at  Ruth  question- 


"She  meant  that  the  Krupp  guns,  torpedo  boats 
and  all  those  horrible  war  implements  were  inven- 
tions of  the  capable  brute,  did  she  not?"  asked 
Adelaide. 

"Yes,  and  more  too.  She  meant  all  those  dan- 
gerous things  that  are  made  for  boys  to  celebrate 
with,"  said  Ruth. 

"And  the  capable  brutes  are  such  inventors  as 
Krupp  and  Pang  —  and  Bombs,"  added  Adelaide 
hesitatingly,  as  though  averse  to  including  him  in 
the  same  class. 

"Yes,"  replied  Ruth;  but  Mr.  Bombs  is  young 
and  perhaps  you  can  influence  him  to  do  better 
things." 

Adelaide  shook  her  head  vigorously.  Ruth  had 
not  quite  caught  her  meaning  but  she  did  not  know 
just  how  to  explain  it,  so  she  went  on  with  the 
journal. 

"Next  to  the  cruel  game  of  war  are  the  celebra- 
tions that  glorify  war  or  warriors.  They  are  mur- 

225 


The  Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

derous  at  the  core  and  they  are  growing  worse  and 
worse  every  year.  Notably  our  Independence  Day. 
I  was  never  so  fully  conscious  of  it  as  now.  I  have 
just  been  to  see  a  little  boy  who  is  dying  of  Tetan- 
us. His  sufferings  were  terrible  to  witness.  His 
father  gave  him  that  invention  of  the  evil  one,  a 
toy  pistol.  No  father  in  our  society  would  have 
done  such  a  thing.  O  how  I  wish  Vassili  had  been 
there  to  paint  the  scene  in  its  true  horror  and  ex- 
hibit it  all  over  this  reckless  American  continent. 

"Last  of  all  come  the  games  of  chance.  Many 
of  them  are  dangerous  to  life  and  limb  and  all  of 
them  are  more  or  less  sinful.  They  are  wrong  in 
principle  inasmuch  as  they  are  a  waste  of  energy 
— the  great  Divine  energy  that  was  given  us  for 
the  regeneration  of  the  world  and  the  building  up 
and  beautifying  of  the  God-given  body  instead  of 
tearing  it  down,  defacing  it,  brutalizing  it  and 
arousing  within  it  the  murderous  spirit  of  resist- 
ance and  revenge.  Such  games  are  too  numerous 
to  mention.  Thou  wilt  know  them  by  their  signs. 
They  are  among  the  perils  that  encompass  thee 
around  and  about. 

"Look  at  them  with  an  unclouded  vision.  Let 
not  custom  blind  thee  to  their  sinuousness  and 
wrong.  Set  an  honest  face  against  them.  Cast 
out  the  devil  that  is  in  them  and  invent  new  ways 
of  amusing  the  young  and  entertaining  the  old. 

"Think  of  these  things,  dear  child.  Think  of 
the  women  and  children  that  are  shivering  and 

226 


Adelaide  Stays  at  Home  with  Her  Father 

starving  while  millions  and  millions  are  being  spent 
in  battleships  and  hideous  inventions  for  the  de- 
struction of  human  life.  Raise  thy  voice  against 
them  and  do  whatsoever  thou  canst  to  avert  or  heal 
the  poverty  and  misery  that  follow  in  their  track. 

"How  I  wish  I  could  be  spared  to  go  with  thee, 
for  I  feel  that  thou  wilt  go  about  doing  good  to 
souls  in  need.  Yes,  the  spirit  tells  me  so,  dear 
child,  and  I  must  listen  and  be  content." 

Truly  thine, 
ELEANOR  TOWNSEND  SCHWARMER. 

"How  I  wish  she  could  have  been  spared;  and 
how  I  wish  I  could  see  Vassili  Verestchagin !" 
whispered  Adelaide  as  she  closed  the  journal. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

A   WONDERFUL  CHANGE   IN    KIIXSBUBY. 

XN  less  than  four  years  after  the  events 
recorded  in  the  last  chapter  a  young 
man  of  fascinating  appearance  stepped 
off  from  the  train  at  the  Killsbury  sta- 
tion. His  name  was  Alfonso  Bombs.  He  had  just 
returned  from  his  trip  abroad.  He  had  seen  the 
Russo-Japanese  army  fighting  like  fiends — setting 
hellish  traps  for  each  other  and  blowing  whole 
regiments  into  eternity.  Vassili  Verestchagin  had 
lost  his  life  in  the  terrible  explosion  of  the  Petro- 
pavlovsk  and  thousands  of  men  had  died  awful 
deaths  through  the  same  satanic  agencies  that  had 
snatched  this  noble  truth-painter  from  his  needed 
work.  The  commercial  world  was  being  made  hid- 
eous with  the  manufacture  and  transportation  of 
monstrous  battleships  and  explosives.  Mr. 
Schwarmer  had  been  blown  to  atoms  by  a  dyna- 
mite explosion  on  a  railroad  train  and  his  widow 
had  married  a  military  man  and  was  deeply  inter- 
ested in  "The  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruel- 
ty to  Animals,"  She  contemplated  giving  a  fine 

228 


A  Wonderful  Change  in  Killsbury 

building  for  its  use  and  enlarging  its  scope  by 
adding  an  infirmary  for  disabled  war-horses ;  but 
Mr.  Bombs  was  not  thinking  of  these  things  nor 
of  the  immense  army  of  youth  that  was  being  pre- 
pared for  the  annual  slaughter  although  it  was  In- 
dependence Day  and  the  nation's  flag  was  flying 
from  every  train.  He  refused  the  proffered  car- 
riage and  walked  leisurely  through  the  town,  stop- 
ping here  and  there  and  looking  around  in  pleased 
surprise.  It  seemed  to  him  that  the  whole  atmos- 
phere of  the  place  had  changed.  The  gardens 
were  full  of  flowers,  the  lawns  were  green  and  vel- 
vety, the  crooked  old  fences  had  disappeared,  the 
sidewalks  were  in  a  perfect  condition,  the  roads 
were  gravelled,  and  the  ugly  hollows  filled  up. 

When  he  got  to  Library  Street,  he  stopped 
and  surveyed  it  critically.  The  improvement  was 
still  more  apparent  there.  The  Adelaide  Library 
was  handsomely  winged.  He  wondered  how  it  would 
be  with  Adelaide  herself.  He  felt  that  she  would 
have  wings  spiritual  if  not  visible — quite  after  his 
heart's  desire.  He  reasoned  that  if  all  these  im- 
provements had  been  made  through  her  influence, 
she  must  be  a  very  rare  woman  and  well  beloved — 
so  well  that  she  would  not  need  any  other  love  per- 
haps. Then  the  little  viper  of  jealousy  slid  into 
his  heart;  but  he  cast  it  out  with  the  lash  of  self- 
assurance.  He  would  not  think  that  he  could  not 
win  her  if  he  should  approve  of  her  and  really  wish 
to  have  her  for  his  very  own. 

229 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

Up  to  this  point  he  had  not  met  any  one  he  knew 
and  he  was  glad  he  had  not.  He  went  on  noting 
changes  until  he  found  himself  at  the  point,  where 
the  street  branched  off  for  the  "Round  About 
Way"  to  Schwarmer  Hill.  He  avoided  it  instinc- 
tively. He  took  the  Straight  Road;  but  his  rev- 
erie as  he  ascended  the  hill  had  a  tragic  element  in 
it  that  robbed  it  of  its  charm. 

After  that,  the  reign  of  disappointment  set  in. 
Schwarmer  mansion  had  not  improved  in  the  least 
— rather  the  reverse. 

If  he  had  expressed  his  thought  he  would  have 
said: 

"It  looks  as  though  it  had  doffed  a  turret  and 
were  reaching  down  to  bring  the  buildings  below 
up  to  its  own  stature." 

The  truth  was,  Adelaide  had  ordered  one  of  the 
most  useless  and  imposing  turrets  to  be  taken 
down  as  it  was  found  to  be  unsafe. 

The  Queery  buildings  remained  intact  and  the 
grounds  were  greatly  improved;  but  he  saw  at  a 
glance  that  it  was  an  improvement  in  which  he  and 
his  Pyro-pieces  had  not  been  takert  into  account. 
Little  children  were  playing  on  the  grass,  small 
boys  and  girls  were  running  from  the  fountain  to 
the  garden  and  baby  carts  were  being  wheeled  about 
the  numerous  walks.  He  hastened  on  to  the  man- 
sion and  rang  the  bell. 

Mary  Langley  opened  the  door  and  started 
back. 

230 


A  Wonderful  Change  in   Killsbury 

"O  I  see  that  you  remember  me,"  laughed  Bombs. 
"Is  Miss  Adelaide  at  home?" 

"Miss  Adelaide  is  down  at  the  college.  Will 
you  come  in  and  wait  for  her?" 

"Thanks.  I  will  wait  on  the  veranda  or  roam 
about.  I  find  many  changes  of  interest." 

He  sat  down  and  rested  from  his  walk  while  he 
looked  out  over  the  handsome  grounds  and  inhaled 
the  odor  of  violets  and  mignonette.  After  he  had 
rested  he  went  out  to  the  brow  of  the  hill.  There 
was  always  a  strong  breeze  on  the  brow  of  the  hill ; 
but  there  was  something  else  this  morning — some- 
thing more  stirring  than  the  rustling  leaves. 
There  were  musical  sounds.  His  first  thought  was 
that  they  were  from  the  throats  of  young  orioles. 
He  listened  intently  and  heard  instead  of  warb- 
lings,  fine  strains  of  music  like  those  of  an  aeolian 
harp. 

"Yes  a  hundred  aeolian  harps!"  he  ejaculated 
and  the  fancy  possessed  him  that  Adelaide  had 
taken  advantage  of  the  situation  and  had  strung 
aeolian  harps  in  the  tops  of  the  trees  for  the  winds 
of  heaven  to  play  upon.  He  did  not  try  to  find 
out  if  it  were  so.  If  it  were  a  delusion  he  preferred 
to  enjoy  it  instead  of  dispelling  it.  He  stood  still 
and  listened  intently. 

Without  knowing  it  he  stood  on  the  very  spot 
where  Mary  Langley  had  lost  her  baby.  He  hit 
his  toe  against  a  stone  and  looking  down  he  saw 
that  it  was  fringed  with  moss  and  bore  a  name  and 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

date  in  tiny  artistic  letters.  The  name  was  Adelaide 
S.  Langley  and  the  date  was  July  4th,  1902.  He 
knew  then  that  he  had  been  doubly  remembered; 
but  it  was  not  flattering  to  his  vanity  to  be  remem- 
bered so  strongly  in  this  case,  any  more  than  it 
was  to  be  entirely  forgotten  in  the  matter  of  trans- 
forming The  Queery  grounds  into  a  children's 
park.  He  turned  away  abruptly  and  saw  Adelaide 
Schwarmer  coming  up  the  hill. 

He  knew  her  at  a  glance;  but  he  was  a  trifle 
disappointed.  His  first  thought  was,  that  like  the 
mansion  she  had  been  holding  herself  down  to  the 
level  of  the  Killsbury  people. 

"You  surprise  me,"  he  said.  "You  have  changed 
so  very,  very  little." 

"And  you  do  not  seem  to  have  changed  at  all; 
and  yet  I  am  not  surprised." 

"But  you  were  at  the  changeable  age  and  I  was 
not." 

"And  you  have  been  changing  places  and  peo- 
ples and  views  constantly.  I  should  think 
you  would  be  changed  by  reflection  if  nothing 
more." 

"There  is  something  in  that  apparently," 
laughed  Bombs.  "Then  it  must  be  because  you 
have  lived  in  the  same  place  and  with  the  same  peo- 
ple that  you  look  the  same.  If  the  theory  is  true 
you  should  move  on  in  order  to  attain  a  full  de- 
velopment. That  would  be  in  accordance  with 
Goethe's  idea  would  it  not? 


A  Wonderful  Change  in   Killsbury 

'Keep  not  standing  fixed  and  rooted. 
Briskly  venture — briskly  roam.' 

"Perhaps  I  didn't  'foot  it  freely'  enough  to  re- 
ceive a  benefaction  of  bronze  and  muscle  that  the 
ladies  admire." 

"From  the  Occident  to  the  Orient  even  on 
wheels,  there  must  be  much  to  see  and  learn,  Mr. 
Bombs." 

"Yes,  Miss  Adelaide,  and  much  that  is  not  worth 
learning.  When  I  was  in  Turkey,  I  learned  noth- 
ing of  more  interest  than  that  the  Sultan  had  fin- 
ished his  forty  days  fast  at  Ramazar  and  taken  a 
new  wife." 

"But  the  treacherous  war,  with  its  horrid 
weapons !  You  must  have  seen  how  awful  it  was, 
Mr.  Bombs?" 

"It  was  the  same  old  story,  Miss  Adelaide;  men 
were  made  to  kill  each  other  with  fists  or  dynamite 
— no  matter  which." 

"You  are  caustic  as  ever,  Mr.  Bombs.  You 
must  have  spent  your  time  chiefly  with  chemicals 
and  in  lurid  laboratories — looking  inward  instead 
of  outward — trying  to  find  out  and  master  the 
hidden  forces.  Father  told  me  of  your  investiga- 
tions only  the  day  before  he  died,"  said  Adelaide 
closing  her  eyes  and  leaning  back  in  her  chair. 

There  was  silence  for  a  few  moments,  then  she 
added:  "Please  tell  me  what  you  have  discovered, 
Mr.  Bombs." 

"There  isn't  much  to  be  told  at  present  date, 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

Miss  Adelaide,  except  that  I  have  discovered  or 
think  I  have,  the  long  sought  for  and  greatly  to 
be  desired  explosive — the  ideal  force  which  com- 
bines the  highest  known  power  with  perfect  safety 
in  use ;  an  explosive  which  when  put  upon  the  mar- 
ket and  used  in  the  place  of  dynamite  will  make 
such  accidents  as  that  which  cost  your  father  his 
life,  practically  impossible." 

"I  don't  believe  such  awful  things  can  be  made 
safe,  any  more  than  the  arch-fiend  himself,  Mr. 
Bombs." 

"But  they  can  be,  Miss  Adelaide,  if  properly 
harnessed  and  handled — at  least  my  explosive  can 
be.  It  will  not  explode  unless  rightly  treated  or 
ew-treated.  It  is  very  particular  about  that," 
laughed  Bombs.  "It  won't  respond  to  hard  knocks 
or  kicks  or  a  shower  of  bullets,  and  a  child  might 
treat  it  to  a  lighted  match  and  coals  of  fire  and  it 
would  do  no  more  than  burn  with  a  gentle  blue 
flame.  An  ounce  of  it  would  make  a  safe  and  sat- 
isfactory firecracker  in  a  boy's  hands ;  while  the 
same  quantity  in  skilful  hands,  could  be  made  to 
blow  up  an  immense  battleship !" 

"How  horrible!"  exclaimed  Adelaide.  "What 
need  have  we  for  such  powerful  explosives?  Are 
we  commanded  to  wreck  the  world — or  grind  it 
into  powder?  I  heard  a  few  days  ago  of  a  man 
who  had  invented  a  machine  that  would  crunch  up 
great  rocks  in  its  horrible  jaws  in  less  time  than 
it  takes  a  dog  to  eat  a  bone.  At  that  rate  there 


A  Wonderful  Change  in   Killsbury 

wouldn't  be  a  rock  left  in  a  few  years'  time  and  the 
blessed  earth  would  be  little  else  than  a  succession 
of  pitfalls!" 

"Pretty  good,"  laughed  Bombs.  "It's  time  for 
the  inventor  of  safety  appliances  to  come  to  the 
rescue,  eh!  Miss  Adelaide." 

"We  cry  safety !  and  yet  there  is  no  safety  with 
such  monsters  all  around  us.  If  we  were  all  good 
and  wise — full  grown  savants,  we  might  talk  of 
safety — but  there  are  the  children  who  don't  know 
how  to  use  safety  appliances  and  the  criminal  who 
is  using  dynamite  to  terrorize  the  railroads." 

"There's  where  my  explosive  has  the  advantage. 
There  isn't  but  one  way  to  explode  it ;  and  there's 
too  much  science  about  it  for  the  child,  the  idiot  or 
the  railroad  dynamiter.  He  couldn't  be  on  hand 
with  an  electric  battery ;  and  it  can't  be  exploded 
by  accident. 

"Let  me  show  you  something,"  said  Bombs, 
fumbling  in  his  pocket  and  bringing  forth  a  small 
piece  of  reddish  brown  substance.  "You  see  how 
harmless  it  looks ;  and  so  it  is  ordinarily  but  by 
employing  certain  agencies  it  could  be  made  to 
blow  up  as  large  an  establishment  as  your  library 
building." 

She  shuddered  involuntarily. 

"I  see  you  have  no  confidence  in  it,  Miss  Ade- 
laide," he  said  tossing  it  up  and  down  in  his  hand. 
"I  have  some  larger  pieces  in  my  traveling  case.  I 
will  prove  them  to  you  some  day  if  you  like." 

235 


The  Independence  Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

"No !  no !  Mr.  Bombs.  I  don't  want  any  proof ! 
This  is  no  longer  a  fit  place  for  proving  grounds, 
as  you  will  see." 

She  looked  out  over  the  network  of  walks  and 
added:  "The  children  have  gone  home  to  dinner, 
but  they  will  be  back  again  soon.  They  come  and 
go  like  the  birds  of  heaven." 

"O  Adelaide,  how  cruel,"  exclaimed  Bombs,  half 
in  jest.  "If  your  father  were  here,  he  would  re- 
ceive me  with  open  arms.  He  would  be  proud  to 
have  me  show  up  my  discoveries  and  inventions.  He 
built  the  Queery  at  my  instigation;  but  you — " 

"Father  told  me  I  might  do  as  I  liked  and  he 
knew  I  did  not  like  dangerous  things.  We  were 
alone  here  for  several  weeks  and  we  talked  it  all 
over  and  made  plans,"  sobbed  Adelaide. 

"Well,  don't  cry,  Adelaide.  I  shall  not  insist.  I 
ought  not  to  wonder  that  you  feel  as  you  do  espe- 
cially since  his  death  and  about  anything  of  the 
same  nature  that  caused  it;  but  you  will  change 
your  mind  I  am  sure  when  you  see  that  my  inven- 
tion is  entirely  the  reverse  of  the  old  and  everlast- 
ingly dangerous  ones.  I  am  going  to  have  some 
experiments  tried  with  it  by  Government  author- 
ity at  the  Indian  Head  Proving  Grounds  later  on, 
and  I  hope  you  will  be  induced  to  come  and  see  for 
yourself  that  it  will  be  a  blessing  rather  than  a 
curse.  It  is  ten  times  more  powerful  when  its 
power  is  needed  than  the  horrible  dynamite  of 
which  you  have  had  such  a  sad  experience;  but  it 


A  Wonderful  Change  in   Killsbury 

is  religiously  believed  that  the  very  might  of  it 
will  make  disastrous  celebrations  and  even  war 
practically  impossible." 

"Religiously  believed!"  exclaimed  Adelaide.  "I 
should  say  that  it  was  anything  but  religious  to 
believe  that  disastrous  celebrations  and  wars  are 
to  be  done  away  with  by  monstrous  life  destroying 
agencies  instead  of  the  human  and  divine  agencies 
of  love  and  true  friendliness.  No !  no,  Mr.  Bombs ! 
That  is  treacherous  military  pretense.  We  have 
never  had  any  Independence  Day  accidents  here 
since  the  fireworks  were  abolished.  We  had  a  great 
many  before.  Ruth  Cornwallis  began  the  crusade 
against  them  and  our  Golden  Rule  President  with 
his  earnest  appeals  and  wise  prohibitions  made  a 
clean  sweep  of  them.  You  remember  Laurens  Corn- 
wallis's  mysterious  death.  You  said  you  would 
tell  me  what  you  knew  about  it  when  you  came 
back.  Please  tell  me  now,  Mr.  Bombs." 


237 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

MR.    BOMBS    TELLS   ALL    HE    KNOWS   ABOUT    LAUEENS 
CORNWALLIS*    MYSTERIOUS    DEATH. 

OMBS  began  to  explain  and  Adelaide  lis- 
tened with  silent  attention  until  he  came 
to  the  point  where  he  sent  the  four  boys 
to  the  river  bank  to  make  Laurens  divide 
the  fireworks  with  them. 

"How  could  you  think  of  doing  such  a  thing?" 
she  asked. 

"I  didn't  stop  to  think,  Miss  Adelaide.  I  knew 
they  were  little  rascals;  but  I  had  a  feeling  that 
Laurens  was  too  goody-goody,  and  that  somehow 
or  other  the  two  extremes  would  be  equalized  by 
setting  them  onto  each  other." 

"How  dreadful!  Mr.  Bombs!  And  so  you  set 
your  four  little  devils  on  to  one  little  angel,  to 
overpower  him?  You  must  have  known  they  would 
destroy  him!" 

"No !  No !  Miss  Adelaide.  I  did  not  know  that. 
I  had  the  unwisdom  and  rashness  of  youth.  I  was 


Mr.  Bombs  Tells  All 

only  fifteen  years  old.  I  had  a  perfect  passion  for 
pyro-spectacles.  I  had  been  brought  up  on  them 
you  know ;  and  I  had  faith  in  my  inventions.  They 
were  intended  to  amuse,  scare  and  mystify.  I  had 
been  taught  early  and  late  that  danger  gives  zest 
to  enjoyment.  Besides  I  had  never  known  of  any- 
body of  consequence  within  my  circle  of  acquain- 
tance, being  killed  by  fireworks ;  and  I  was  of  the 
opinion  that  they  never  would  injure  anybody 
except  idiots,  who  deserved  to  be  injured." 

"But  you  knew  that  Laurens  Cornwallis  was 
not  an  idiot,  and  that  the  boys  were  reckless  and 
the  fireworks  dangerous." 

"Yes,  but  Laurens  had  charge  of  them  and  he 
could  have  held  up  a  score  of  boys  if  he  had  known 
how  to  handle  them." 

"But  you  knew  he  did  not  know  and  the  other 
boys  did." 

"Yes,  but  I  thought  he  ought  to  have  known." 

He  saw  the  rising  of  an  indignant  flush  in  Ade- 
laide's face  and  added  quickly,  "besides  I  intend- 
ed to  go  back  and  see  that  no  harm  was  done,  Miss 
Adelaide." 

"Why  did  you  not  go?"  inquired  Adelaide 
shortly. 

"Your  father  claimed  my  services.  First  to  help 
store  away  the  surplus  stock  I  had  brought  with 
me.  That  done,  we  gave  chase  to  some  boys  that 
were  making  up  the  river  with  his  boat.  We  head- 
ed them  off.  They  got  into  a  panic,  lost  one  oar 

239 


The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

and  broke  another,  then  went  down  over  the  falls 
and  were  drowned.  You  heard  about  it  did  you 
not?" 

"Yes,  but  not  much." 

"Well,  there  wasn't  much  said  about  it.  They 
were  of  no  account  anyway.  They  were  a  squad 
of  tough  boys  that  came  up  from  the  prolific 
French  settlement,  to  work  their  little  game  and 
see  how  much  they  could  get  out  of  'old  Schwar- 
mer,'  as  they  called  him.  Of  course  the  parents 
Couldn't  say  anything  on  account  of  the  stealing 
of  the  boat,  and  probably  they  had  about  fifteen 
other  children  and  were  glad  to  be  rid  of  them. 
I  shouldn't  have  remembered  it  had  it  not  been  for 
one  little  circumstance." 

"What  was  that?"  asked  Adelaide  breathlessly. 

"They  were  the  boys  I  sent  to  Laurens  Corn- 
wallis  for  a  division  of  fireworks." 

"And  they  killed  him  with  the  terrible  things 
and  were  trying  to  make  their  escape,"  exclaimed 
Adelaide  in  dismay. 

"That's  the  mystery,  Miss  Adelaide.  They  quar- 
relled with  him,  without  a  doubt.  The  killing  was 
most  likely  accidental.  They  had  a  hand  in  the 
accident,  probably,  were  frightened,  ran  to  the 
river  and  took  the  boat  to  make  good  their  escape. 
Only  God  knows !" 

"And  the  parents  thought  father  must  have  giv- 
en him  the  fireworks.  How  strange!" 

"Yes,   it   was    strange.      Strange   that  all   who 

240 


Mr.   Bombs  Tells  All 

knew  anything  about  it  should  have  met  a  violent 
death.  It  looks  as  though  Providence  or  whatever 
you  choose  to  call  him,  was  on  my  side,  doesn't  it, 
Miss  Adelaide?  But  I  did  not  know  your  father 
was  suspected.  I  regret  that." 

She  did  not  reply.  She  was  trying  to  analyze 
her  feeling. 

"Non-plussed  I  see,"  said  Bombs.  "Well  I  don't 
wonder.  I  had  something  of  that  feeling  at  first. 
Nobody  could  blame  me  but  myself,  because  no 
living  person  knew  about  it  but  myself.  Now  no 
one  knows  it  but  you  and  I ;  and  I  am  used  to  your 
blame;  I  rather  enjoy  it.  In  fact  I  like  it  so  well 
that  I  have  come  to  ask  you  to  marry  me." 

"But  you  would  not  marry  me  knowing  that  I 
would  continue  to  blame  you — knowing  that  I 
would  work  against  your  business  interests,  Mr. 
Bombs." 

"I  would  marry  you,  knowing  that  you  could 
not  harm  my  adamantine  interests,"  laughed 
Bombs.  "It  would  take  a  hundred  years  of  such 
gentle  leaven  to  affect  them  materially  or  imma- 
terially and  we  shall  both  be  in  heaven  before  that 
time,  where  everything  is  changed  in  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye  and  reforms  if  needed  would  not  have  to 
be  worked  out  by  the  tedious,  sinuous  and  rather 
sour  or  unsavory  processes  of  fermentation." 

"But  you  would  not  marry  me  knowing  that  our 
thoughts,  feelings  and  tastes  were  entirely  antago- 
nistic— that  I  should  strive  with  my  whole  might 

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The  Independence   Day   Horror  at  Killsbury 

to  pull  down  the  things  you  would  build  up?  Im- 
possible !" 

"I  would  marry  you  and  love  and  admire  you 
all  the  same,  Adelaide.  And  I  would  give  you  carte 
blanche  out  of  the  proceeds  of  my  'horrid*  inven- 
tions to  use  in  your  work  of  demolishing,  recon- 
structing and  Christianizing." 

"You  are  jesting,  Mr.  Bombs." 

She  broke  off  and  rested  her  head  on  both  hands. 
The  old  weariness  had  come  again,  and  more !  Even 
the  multiplicity  of  his  adjectives  affected  her. 
They  tired  her  to  death  just  as  his  Pyro-shows 
used  to  do — with  their  flash  after  flash. 

"You  are  the  same  and  yet  you  are  not  the 
same,"  she  added,  arousing  herself  and  turning 
away  from  his  glittering  gaze  with  a  gesture  of 
despair.  "O  why  did  you  come  back  to  torment 
my  life?" 

He  came  swiftly  to  her  side  and  whispered  in 
her  ear — whispered,  although  he  might  have  spok- 
en aloud;  for  there  was  no  one  in  the  room  and 
no  sleeping  Adam  anywhere  among  the  shrub- 
beries :  "I  came  to  fulfill  my  promise  to  your  fath- 
er and  claim  you  for  my  wife." 

She  started  from  him  as  though  bitten  by  a  ser- 
pent, or  rather  as  though  she  had  been  mistaken 
for  the  original  Eve  and  a  real  serpent  had  been 
whispering  in  her  ear. 

"Your  wife!"  Her  face  turned  surface-red  as 
though  scorched  with  outside  flame.  "Your  wife," 


Mr.  Bombs  Tells  All 

she  repeated,  "and  the  elected  burden-bearer  of 
your  secret,  sinful  knowledge!  I  have  never 
thought  of  being  your  wife  and  never  could  be  or 
should  be,  and  father  would  not  have  insisted." 

"Adelaide!  Adelaide!  You  don't  know  what 
you  are  saying.  You  will  feel  differently  after 
everything  is  proven  and  you  have  time  to  think 
it  over." 

"Never!  Mr.  Bombs,  never!  I  shall  never  think 
differently.  Leave  me!  Go  out  of  my  sight  for- 
ever !" 

"Adelaide!  Is  it  possible!  Whatever  I  have 
been  to  others  I  have  always  been  honest  with 
you." 

"Honest  ?  Yes !  You  tell  me  of  your  black  and 
sinful  deeds,  then  try  to  make  them  look  sinless 
and  white.  Leave  me  at  once.  Your  presence  is 
more  than  I  can  endure." 

She  turned  to  an  alcove  in  the  far  end  of  the 
room  and  stretching  her  arms  high  above  her  head 
in  agonized  supplication,  she  added: 

"And  thou  Angelo  Cornwallis!  Beautiful  spir- 
it !  be  with  me !  Help  me  undo  the  dreadful  deeds 
that  have  been  done  in  our  midst ;  and  when  I  have 
done  all  I  can  at  home,  lead  me  on  and  on;  for  as 
it  is  here  so  it  is  elsewhere  all  over  God's  great 
world.  The  good  and  beautiful  are  being  battered 
and  slain,  that  the  coffers  of  the  bad  and  beastly 
may  be  filled  to  overflowing  with  gold !" 

The  picture  before  which  she  stood  was  an  ar- 

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The  Independence  Day  Horror  at  Killsbury 

tist's  realization  of  what  Laurens  Angelo  Corn- 
wallis  would  have  looked  like,  if  he  had  lived  to 
reach  man's  estate.  It  was  a  life-sized  portrait  of 
rare  beauty  and  nobility  thrown  out  in  strong  re- 
lief from  a  bluish-black  background  of  peculiar 
make-up.  Was  it  the  work  of  Vassili  Verestchagin 
and  had  her  wish  to  see  him  been  granted,  or  fail- 
ing to  be  granted  had  she  taken  him  for  her  spir- 
itual teacher  and  inspirator  and  painted  it  her- 
self? 

Alfonso  Bombs  looked  in  her  direction  and  rec- 
ognized both  the  portrait  and  the  significance  of 
its  setting — the  marvelous  whiteness,  brightness 
and  angelic  beauty  of  the  one,  and  the  mysterious 
darkness,  luridity  and  startling  suggestiveness  of 
the  other — as  though  the  artist  had  at  the  last  mo- 
ment dipped  his  brushes  in  the  paint  pots  of  the 
Inferno  for  characteristic  colors  with  which  to  por- 
tray the  dread  and  nameless  shapes  that  had 
threatened  to  destroy  his  fair  creation. 

Feelings  of  jealousy,  rage  and  resentment  over- 
whelmed the  spirit  of  Alfonso  Bombs  as  he  looked 
at  his  unconscious  paint  and  canvas  rival  and  de- 
tected in  that  hellish  background  unmistakable 
shadowings  of  himself ;  but  for  the  first  time  in  his 
life  he  had  no  specious  plea  to  make.  He  had  re- 
ceived his  answer  and  the  proof  of  its  finality.  He 
turned  away  with  the  swift  and  subtle  movement 
habitual  to  him  and  left  the  house  and  the  town. 
THE  END. 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  UBRAflYFAOUlY 


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